Establishment of the South Asian high over the Indo-China Peninsula during late spring to summer

The establishment of the upper-level South Asian high (SAH) over the Indo-China Peninsula (ICP) during late boreal spring and its possible causes are investigated using long-term NCEP–NCAR and ERA-40 reanalysis and satellite-observed OLR data. Results show that, from early March to mid-April, deep convection stays south of ~6°N over the northern Sumatran islands. As the maximum solar radiation moves over the latitudes of the ICP (10°–20°N) in late April, the air over the ICP becomes unstable. It ascends over the ICP and descends over the adjacent waters to the east and west. This triggers deep convection over the ICP that induces large latent heating and strong updrafts and upper-level divergence, leading to the formation of an upper-level anticyclonic circulation and the SAH over the ICP. During early to mid-May, deep convection over the ICP intensifies and extends northwards to the adjacent waters. Strong latent heating from deep convection enhances and maintains the strong updrafts and upper-level divergence, and the SAH is fully established by mid-May. Thus, the seasonal maximum solar heating and the land–sea contrast around the ICP provide the basic conditions for deep convection to occur preferentially over the ICP, which leads to the formation of the SAH over the ICP from late April to mid-May. Simulations using RegCM4 also indicate that the diabatic heating over the ICP is conducive to the generation and development of upperlevel anticyclonic circulation, which leads to an earlier establishment of the SAH.