Characteristics of Surface Temperature Variations in the SCS Monsoon Region and Connections with the Monsoon Onset

The temporal and spatial variations of the pentad mean surface air temperature have been analyzed in this paper based on the data of NCEP/NCAR from January of 1979 to December of 1995 in the South China Sea(SCS) monsoon region.It is found that there exist two maximum centers of the temperature standard deviation in the northwest Indochina and the Indian Peninsulas,and their location and strength change significantly during the period of SCS monsoon onset.The positive zonal deviation changes into negative deviation earlier in the southern Indochina Peninsula than in the Indian Peninsula,accompanied with a gradient from south to north in the longitudinal belt of the Indian Peninsula.In addition,the features of the temperture anomaly differences between the Indochina and SCS are different significantly.Therefore, the surface air temperature changes in the Indochina and the Indian Peninsula regions maybe have some connections with the SCS monsoon onset and the Indian monsoon onset,and the Indochina Peninsula becomes the sensitive or key region to the SCS monsoon onset probably.