Influence of the sea surface temperature on the stratification of airmass and cumulus activity over the East China Sea in the pre-summer rain season is studied on the basis of data of Experiment of Severe Rainstorms Research Project. While the very warm water is distributed over the Kuroshio region in the southeastern part of the East China Sea, there is a cold water pool in the central part of the East China Sea.The conditional unstable stratification of the subtropical airmass, which flows over the cold water pool, is modified into a very stable stratification.The airmass, which flows over the Kuroshio region, on the other hand, maintains its conditional instability. The airmass modification over the cold water pool is simulated in the simple numerical experiment with equations of heat and moisture diffusion. The influence of the sea temperature on the cumulus activity is examined by a statistical analysis of the radar echo distribution. The result of the analysis shows that cumulus convections are suppressed over the cold water pool.