Finally, someone has come to their senses about the release of northern-style lanterns. Yi peng floating lanterns have become a big fad not only in Chiang Mai and some other provinces in the North, but also in Bangkok as people love to look at the glittering lights when hundreds of them are released in the sky at night.
It's particularly popular during the Loy Krathong festival which takes place next week and during the New Year.
The increasing passion for lanterns comes with mountings concerns over safety, especially air safety and fires.
Over the years, there's been much talk without any concrete action to deal with this problem. But this year is a bit different.
Chiang Mai International Airport has taken steps to boost air safety by cancelling as well as rescheduling more than 100 flights during the festival next week. The move will affect nearly 20,000 passengers, mostly those flying with Thai Airways, Air Asia and Bangkok Airways, while airport authorities will also inevitably lose money.
The airport has also issued warnings to other airlines for the need to change flight timetables to avoid the blazing lanterns.
In Bangkok, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has also addressed the issue for the same safety reasons.
The BMA announced it will impose a 24-hour ban on sales of lanterns at Loy Krathong sites and also prohibit the release of lanterns in certain areas, in particular over key historical areas as well as government offices, airports, tall buildings and residential areas of the city.
The move follows quite a number of lantern-related fire incidents in the capital during the New Year celebrations last year.
Separate fires were also reported in the nearby provinces of Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi.
It is only with luck that we escaped major fires as a result of these lanterns. Of course, we should welcome the precautionary move by Chiang Mai and the BMA.
But is it enough? I think not.
By cancelling flights or rescheduling them, Chiang Mai simply ignores the risk of serious fires sparked by these lanterns.
Perhaps authorities in the North are reluctant to get tough with revellers as releasing lanterns is thought to be part of their tradition and it may be too sensitive an issue to force change.
But there's an argument that the reasons for releasing the lanterns have changed enormously over the past years.
People in bygone eras did not release as many lanterns as we do. They carefully selected the sites for their release. Ideal places were vast, empty areas to prevent fires breaking out.
But today's revellers, especially youngsters, just don't care. It seems they feel they can release their lanterns anywhere without concern for the consequences. For them, lanterns are not a tradition, just pure fun.
There are reports that lanterns have been modified to make them go up higher and stay up longer in the sky. This makes them even more dangerous.
Similar modifications to Isan rockets pose threats to public safety as the devices contain gunpowder.
With regard to Bangkok, there's no ideal place for the release of lanterns in the capital. But the question is: How will it be regulated?
The BMA may have forgotten that lanterns are different from firecrackers. They can drift in the wind far from where they are released. And if one causes a fire to break out on the ground, we can hardly hold anyone accountable as it is difficult to determine where it came from or who released it.
Last year's fires attest to this fact. No one was arrested or held responsible for them. Given the potential danger, the BMA should not come to any compromises.
It's likely the BMA has not prepared itself for the problem as the ban lasts only 24 hours. Can we expect tougher measures at New Year?
Don't forget that Bangkokians, unlike Chiang Mai people, have no reason to be upset if lanterns are totally banned. After all, it's not a Bangkok tradition in the first place.
Ploenpote Atthakor is deputy editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.