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The present study investigates signals of the South China Sea (SCS) summer rainfall variability in the Indian Ocean. It is found that the SCS summer rainfall has a negative relationship with December–January–February (DJF) western-equatorial Indian Ocean (WIO) sea surface temperature (SST), a positive relationship with an asymmetric mode of precipitation anomalies in the tropical Indian Ocean during March–April–May (MAM), and a positive relationship with June–July–August (JJA) South Indian Ocean (SIO) SST. The WIO SST anomalies induce same-sign southeast Indian Ocean SST anomalies through an anomalous zonal vertical circulation. The southeast Indian Ocean SST anomalies last from late winter to early summer and induce opposite-sign SCS summer rainfall anomalies via an anomalous meridional vertical circulation. The asymmetric mode influences the SCS summer rainfall variation via the North Indian Ocean (NIO) SST anomalies with significant cloud–radiation and wind–evaporation effect. Positive (negative) SIO SST anomalies drive an anomalous direct circulation between the SIO and the NIO, and an anomalous indirect circulation between the NIO and the SCS which facilitates the occurrence of cyclonic (anti–cyclonic) wind anomalies over the SCS–western North Pacific and results in positive (negative) SCS summer rainfall anomalies. Partial correlation analysis indicates that the influence of DJF WIO SST anomalies and JJA SIO SST anomalies on the SCS summer rainfall is partly ENSO-independent, while the MAM asymmetric mode is mostly related to the preceding DJF eastern Pacific SST anomalies.

This study investigates summer rainfall variability in the South China Sea (SCS) region and the roles of remote sea surface temperature (SST) forcing in the tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean regions. The SCS summer rainfall displays a positive and negative relationship with simultaneous SST in the equatorial central Pacific (ECP) and the North Indian Ocean (NIO), respectively. Positive ECP SST anomalies induce an anomalous low-level cyclone over the SCS-western North Pacific as a Rossby-wave type response, leading to above-normal precipitation over northern SCS. Negative NIO SST anomalies contribute to anomalous cyclonic winds over the western North Pacific by an anomalous east–west vertical circulation north of the equator, favoring more rainfall over northern SCS. These NIO SST anomalies are closely related to preceding La Nina and El Nino events through the “atmospheric bridge”. Thus, the NIO SST anomalies serve as a medium for an indirect impact of preceding ECP SST anomalies on the SCS summer rainfall variability. The ECP SST influence is identified to be dominant after 1990 and the NIO SST impact is relatively more important during 1980s. These Indo-Pacific SST effects are further investigated by conducting numerical experiments with an atmospheric general circulation model. The consistency between the numerical experiments and the observations enhances the credibility of the Indo-Pacific SST influence on the SCS summer rainfall variability.