The mercury is rising and there is nothing we can do about it. So we hide in our rooms keeping cool to the sound of electricity-guzzling air conditioners and try to ponder the reasons for the heat exceeding 44C.
One answer is not too difficult to work out: deforestation. Planting more trees would be some kind of help, but it is a demanding task. Most of us prefer to take the easy out by switching on the a/c and pointing the finger of blame at villagers who cut down the trees.
However, social attention continues to focus on forest conservation with the National Council for Peace and Order moving ahead with its plan to recover 46 million rai of forest land with trees.
Anchalee Kongrut writes about the environment for Life, Bangkok Post.
Among the more interesting places to observe the latest goings-on is the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). Last week, a conservation group, Phetchaburi People Love Forests, went to the department to complain about shifting cultivation, a farming practice of indigenous Karen villagers, including those who have lived in Kaeng Krachan National Park for centuries. The group alleges the practice damages pristine forest.
But that is not the whole story. They demanded the DNP reinstate former Kaeng Krachan chief Chaiwat Limlikitaksorn, who was transferred from the area following accusations he was involved in the disappearance of Porlajee "Billy" Rakchongcharoen, a Karen human rights activist. Mr Chaiwat was later acquitted due to lack of evidence.
To me, it reflects the myth of Karen and hilltribe villagers being a major cause of deforestation. The first thing I learned about the Karen when I was a student was "slash-and-burn", a politically incorrect form of shifting cultivation. In 2013 the Ministry of Culture announced traditional shifting cultivation as a cultural heritage practice. It is in line with local and small-scale farming, and allows farmed plots to rest and recover every five to seven years.
The fact is, shifting cultivation hardly exists. National forests are turned into national parks, with tight rules to evict local indigenous people even though their farms are small. The wider picture is that the state has failed to tackle mass cultivation, especially of crops such as corn and rubber.
The story of deforestation in Thailand is complicated. It is not altogether a story of forest dwellers with chainsaws attacking trees. It was once a story of imperialism and a way to fight against invasion efforts in 1890 when King Chulalongkorn gave commercial teak logging concessions to British loggers in a bid to counterbalance France in Indochina.
In 1956, the government allowed logging companies to exploit the forests. Then it was political instability and totalitarian regimes during the 1970s that gave in to mafias and poachers who felled massive tracts of teak trees. The story became a bit macabre during 1976-1980 when authorities set fire to forest areas where pro-democracy protesters and politically radical students and activists were hiding after fleeing a bloody crackdown. Of course, the forest dwellers who cut down trees were arrested, but not the big money people who hired them.
The story of deforestation is about the failure of the state to deal with the middlemen who hire villagers to plant commercial crops, companies who dictate demand, and consumers who do not pay attention. Society and the state have failed to make agro titans pay for environmental damage they have caused. It is easier to drive poor peasants out of the forests, not the billionaire executives who wine and dine policy-makers and spend big on corporate social responsibility programmes.
But the narrative about forests is not all tragedy. In television and social media, we see encouraging news of city dwellers and celebrities like rapper Joey Boy and deejay and former Bangkok gubernatorial candidate Suharit Siamwalla helping locals restore forests.
Conservation groups these days can offer criticism and back it up with action. We can expect that from now on, our forest story will touch on economic incentives. Renowned national park official Pongsa Chunam and veteran activist Harnarong Yaowalert will kick off a forest planting festival with the Tree Bank project in Phathalung province at the end of this month. They have sent an invitation to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to help show the way to recovering 46 million rai of land.
The tree bank project is based on an economic incentive given to forest planters, giving them a profit from some commercial trees while helping conservationists protect parks and reduce poverty at the same time.