We present a thermodynamics argument against a strictly linear temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth, which applies to superconductors with arbitrary pairing symmetry at low temperatures. [S0031-9007(98) PACS numbers: 74.25.Nf, 74.20.Fg, 74.72.Bk Some evidence for an unconventional d x 2 2y 2 -pairing symmetry in cuprate high-T c superconductors is provided by recent angle resolved photoemission experiments [1]. A striking proof for the d x 2 2y 2 symmetry of the Cooper pairs in cuprates arises from the observation of a spontaneously generated half flux quantum in Josephson tunneling experiments carried out on tetracrystal substrates [2]. Early support for the possibility of a d x 2 2y 2 symmetry of the Cooper pairs in cuprate high-T c superconductors came from the observation of a linear T dependence of the magnetic penetration depth [3,4] at low temperatures T : l͑T͒ 2 l͑0͒~T .(1) Such a linear T dependence of the magnetic penetration depth (MPD) has a topological origin. If the order parameter associated with the Cooper pair condensate vanishes along node lines on the Fermi surface the spectrum N s ͑E͒ of quasiparticle excitations in the superconducting phase is gapless and varies proportional to E at low excitation energies: N s ͑E͒~E for E ø D max . For this reason a pure d x 2 2y 2 -pairing state (node lines along k x 6k y ) should display a strictly linear dependence of MPD vs T at low temperatures. In previous work this effect was also discussed for the polar phase in a triplet pairing superconductor, e.g., [5].New experiments [6] indicate deviations from this linearity of MPD with temperature, for example, a T 2 dependence of MPD below some crossover temperature T ء was measured. Such a behavior may occur due to various reasons. For example, Kosztin and Leggett [7] explain this behavior in terms of nonlocal electrodynamics. Their argument is, that in clean d x 2 2y 2 -pairing superconductors there exist surface induced nonlocal effects, which lead to a T 2 dependence of l ab ͑T͒ 2 l ab ͑0͒, as extracted from optical and microwave experiments with the magnetic field orientated parallel to the b c direction. On the other hand, in experiments with the magnetic field orientated perpendicular to the b c direction the T dependence of MPD cannot be altered by the Kosztin-Leggett effect.Since the Kosztin-Leggett effect [7] really depends on the existence of a surface in the problem it cannot be applied to other measurement techniques of MPD, for example, direct static magnetic measurements, measurements of vortex properties, the lower critical magnetic field B c1 , muon spin relaxation. Such techniques of measuring MPD have bulk character.In the following, we present a proof (based on linear response theory), for arbitrary superconductors, that a strictly linear T dependence of MPD at low temperatures violates the third law of thermodynamics. For simplicity, let us consider a uniform system where all properties depend on coordinates r 2 r 0 only. The current-current correlator,