Mangos

The “mango rains” have finally come!

Usually in February or March there are some rains known as the “mango rains” as they help the mangos that are already on the trees.  If the rains come too soon they can knock the flowers off the trees, but for the last few years they’ve either not come at all or come too late. They used to come in early February most years.

I’m not sure how much of it is due to climate change and shifting weather patterns over mainland Southeast Asia, and how much of it is due to the increasing paving over of the rice fields of the Chiang Mai valley for housing development and huge ring roads.  The construction and additional cars that go with it brings dust and a loss of green space and trees.  During this part of hot season there is usually morning fog, so combined with the dust and a lot of burning of leaves and forests it can get pretty hazy.

We’re just glad for the rain—the ground has been parched and our rivers expedition starts in a few days.  Let’s hope the upper watershed of the Yom river (which we will be canoeing) gets lots of rain! There is always water in the upper Yom where we paddle, but some parts can get really shallow, so rain is good.