Chiang Mai is quiet today as we enter a new year 2557 in the Buddhist calendar.

The smoke haze of the preceding months has eased following some welcome rains and wind.  The cooler weather which comes with the clouds of the rainy season may be a month or more away and as folk turn up the air-con Mae Moh burns more coal.

Mae Moh Coal Burning Power Plant

Mae Moh Coal Burning Power Plant

This photo appears in a report from Greenpeace on the positive news contained in the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Please take time to read the report and if you are feeling the heat, try doing what the ancients of Chiang Mai used to do, wander up to the shade of the trees at the Huai Keow Arboretum between CMU and the zoo.

Also on Tuesday 22nd April the USA celebrates “Earth Day” and their consulate in Chiang Mai proposes organizing an activity here. We will keep you posted as details are released.