Global rainbow thermometry is a new technique for measuring the average size and temperature of spray droplets. For data inversion a global rainbow pattern is employed, which is formed by constructive interference of laser light scattered by an ensemble of spherical droplets. The non-spherical droplets and liquid ligaments provide a uniform background and hence do not influence the interference pattern from which average size and temperature are derived. This is a large improvement with respect to standard rainbow thermometry, investigated since 1988, which is strongly influenced by particle shape. Moreover, the technique is applicable to smaller droplets than the standard technique because the global pattern is not spoiled by a ripple structure. Data inversion schemes based on inflection points, minima and maxima are discussed with respect to spray dispersion and droplet flux. The temperature derivation from inflection points appears to be independent of spray dispersion. Preliminary measurements in a heated water spray are reported. The mean diameter obtained from the rainbow pattern is smaller than the arithmetic mean diameter measured by phase-Doppler anemometry. The accuracy of the temperature measurement by global rainbow thermometry is shown to be a few degrees Celsius.