One of the pictures that netizens shared the most from last week's coronation was an image of a well-wisher offering a tiny, handheld fan to a nearby military officer in full costume as they waited for the royal motorcade under the scorching sun.
The close-up photo shows beads of sweat dropping from the officer's fingers.
The picture went viral, and netizens said it showed how fellow Thais care for each other. I too, was amazed by the act of kindness that was shown in the photograph.
At the same time, it speaks volumes about the heat that Thais were exposed to as they joined the once-in-a-lifetime ceremony.
Some netizens likened the heat to an "inferno", but as the people rejoiced, they cared little about the heat and braced for the sunshine while standing on the pavement, waiting for a chance to get a glimpse of the monarch and members of the royal family.
Weeks ahead of the royal ceremony, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) improved the landscape by trimming trees and removing some in order to open the visual space in the Old City.
Several people shared photos praising the tidiness of the area. But without shade from the trees, I could only imagine what the heat felt like during the day's peak.
In my opinion, the area is neat but lifeless. A look at a then-and-now picture makes us realise that Bangkok used to be greener, with numerous trees adorning the pavement.
I can't help but think it would have been better if there were trees that shaded and protected the well-wishers and the lavishly-clad officers from the excruciating sun.
Right after the coronation, the BMA's Environmental Department, as if to correct its mistake, announced a 30-million-baht plan to plant 100,000 trees within the year.
Five million baht will be used to plant trees in the areas belonging to the BMA, including office compounds and parks, and the other 25 million baht will be used in private properties, schools, temples, and parts of the city's Bang Khunthian district.
Bangkok is in dire need of trees. There are currently about 20,000 rai of public parks in Bangkok, which comes out to 6.2 square metres per city resident.
The figure is not satisfactory as it is still below the World Health Organisation's guideline, which stipulates nine sq m per resident.
While we laud the city's tree-planting plan, I really hope it will abandon the old, dubious practice of cutting down beautiful, mature trees and replacing them with young trees.
Over the past years, the BMA has received some flak as a result of the practice, which drew complaints from tree lovers who asked why it was so difficult for the BMA to simply keep the existing trees in good condition.
This method would have been cheaper than uprooting the old trees and planting new ones, not to mention the time that it takes for the newly planted trees to grow tall enough to provide shade to pedestrians.
I remember a mature tree next to Pun-Pun bike-sharing station on Phaya Thai Road, which looked good and didn't show any signs of decay on its stump, but it was felled to be replaced by a sapling.
Using such practices, the city has lost almost all of its mature trees over the past decade. Many of the fully grown trees have been felled to pave the way for infrastructure, and as we saw during the coronation, some historical buildings stand next to bare pavement.
May I remind you how the BMA "beautified" the lush and green Pom Mahakan community by turning it into an empty, meaningless lawn? And more than a dozen big trees along the historic Klong Ong Ang canal were felled to create more space for revellers celebrating last year's Loy Krathong Festival. What a loss!
As we are in the age of climate change, we need trees more than ever, as they help stabilise the weather and protect us from the scorching sunshine that many stood under during the royal ceremony.
Instead of the usual cutting-and-planting practice, the BMA should start anew by valuing the existing trees.
The 30-million-baht budget should be spent in a wiser way, which is possible if the agency works with its allies to increase the city's green space.
The administration could offer incentives to the private sector to keep the existing trees and plant more, and could also do more to make sure new construction projects have real green space with trees, not just a lawn with a few bushes.
Sirinya Wattanasukchai is a Bangkok Post columnist.
