Influence of Tropical SSTs on the Interannual Variation of the Summer Monsoon Break over the Western North Pacific

The break of the western North Pacific (WNP) summer monsoon (WNPSM) occurs climatologically in early August and is accompanied by a remarkable suppression of convection over the ocean east of the Mariana Islands (10°–20°N, 140°–160°E). This suppression of convection is sandwiched between two convection peaks in late July and mid-August. Two types of monsoon break are identified in the interannual variation of the WNPSM break in the period 1979–2015, exhibiting a distinct subseasonal evolution of convection that is either in phase or out of phase with the climatological evolution. The preceding SST anomalies in the tropical WNP during early and mid-July are responsible for the interannual variation of the monsoon break. Warm (cold) SST anomalies induce an advanced (delayed) evolution of the WNPSM, with the establishment of strong convection in late July (early August) followed by a monsoon break in early August (mid-August). The subseasonal evolution of convection is therefore in phase (out of phase) with that of the climatological mean. The above SST anomalies mainly result from the local wind–evaporation–SST positive feedback during spring and summer. This local air–sea interaction is still robust after the linear regression components related to the variability of ENSO are excluded from the original fields, indicating that it is, to a large extent, independent of ENSO. The ENSO decaying phases have a secondary role in modulating the SST anomalies related to the WNPSM break.