Through observational analyses, an inter-hemispheric teleconnection is identified between the subtropical region of the South China Sea to the western Pacific near the Philippines (WP) and the region to the east of Australia (AE). The teleconnection is significantly correlated with sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in key sea areas (including the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, and the area to the east of Australia). Based on the IAP T42L9 model, numerical experiments are performed to explore a possible mechanism for the formation of the teleconnection. The results show that the positive SST anomalies in the key sea areas may jointly contribute to the occurrence and maintenance of the positive geopotential height anomalies over both the WP and AE and be a critical factor in the teleconnection formation. The large-scale SST anomaly in the Indian Ocean, involving the tropics and subtropics of both hemispheres, may lead to concurrent atmospheric responses over both the WP and AE, while the effect of the local SST anomaly to the east of Australia seems to reinforce and maintain the positive height anomaly over the AE.
