Monsoon Over Bangkok
Lifestyle
October 9, 2025
Jon Afrizal & Zulfa Amira Zaed/Bangkok, Thailand
A side of Bangkok Metropolitan. (credits: Jon Afrizal/amira.co.id)
BANGKOK is always busy, as usual. Bangkok, with an area of 1,586.7 square kilometers, is the largest provincial area, out of 68 provinces in Thailand.
Still ringing in our ears, a song called “Made In Thailand, Made In USA” by Carabao in 1986. And, today, it’s the rainy season.
After the Kingdom of Ayutthaya was defeated by the Kingdom of Burma in 1767, King Taksin as the new king established a new capital. Namely Thonburi, which is in the area that is now part of Bangkok City.
When Taksin’s reign ended in 1782, King Rama I rebuilt the capital on the east side of the river and gave it a fairly long ceremonial name. The name was later shortened to the official name: “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon” or simply “Krung Thep”.
The ceremonial name is: “Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rạttanakosinth Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok P̣hoph Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Satthit Sakkathattiya Wits anukamprasithth”.
A name derived from Sanskrit, with meaning, which approximately, is; “The city of angels, the great city of the eternal Buddhist jewel, the invincible Great Sense of the world that is too great, the nine jewels in the king’s residence in the happy city full of the king’s palace as a majestic place, The eternal abode where the dwellers are given by Sakka, founded by Vishwakarma.”
However, this new city is also commonly called “Bangkok”. A name that continues to be used by foreigners to designate the entire area of the city, and became the official name in English.
Although, in Thai, the word “Bangkok” only refers to the old town on the west bank of the river.
The city, since then has been extensively modernized and undergone many changes. It included the introduction of transportation and infrastructure during the reigns of King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn, and quickly became the center of Thailand’s economy.
Bangkok is located about 2 meters above sea level (masl). This will certainly cause problems related to the protection of the city against flooding during the monsoon (rainy season). Not infrequently, after heavy rains, river water and canals overflow into the river banks and cause major flooding.
Chao Phraya River. (credits: Bangkok River Cruise)
In anticipation of flooding, the Bangkok Metropolitan Government (BMA) has installed barriers along several canals to prevent overflow of water from canals that connect to major rivers in Thailand.
The Chao Phraya River, which in ancient maps is called “Mae Nam”, flows through the city of Bangkok, and then heads to the Gulf of Thailand, with a length of 372 kilometers. The word “Chao Phraya” is likely derived from the word “Bang Chao Phraya”, as an alternative name, which was documented around 1660 during the reign of King Narai, in the settlement area now called Samut Prakan.
Another solution to flooding is that the lowland area of the Chao Phraya watershed in central Thailand has been designated as the Chao Phraya freshwater swamp forest. It is a vast tropical rainforest ecoregion and subtropisecoregion, an area with an area of about 400 kilometers from north to south, and with a width of 180 kilometers.
Chao Phraya Basin is home to about 280 species of fish, including about 30 endemic species. By far the most diverse family is Cyprinidae with 108 species. While the main stream of the Chao Phraya River has about 190 species of native fish.
In general, the aquatic fauna of the Chao Phraya and Mae Klong Rivers show clear similarities. The two, sometimes combined in one ecoregion with 328 species of fish.
Unfortunately, Thailand’s Pollution Control Department (PCD) reports that the water quality of the major rivers flowing into the upper Gulf of Thailand continues to deteriorate seriously. And the lower Chao Phraya River contains bacteria and nutrient pollution from phosphate, phosphorus, and nitrogen.
Nutrient pollution causes algae to grow faster than the ecosystem can handle, which damages water quality, food sources for aquatic animals, and marine habitats. It also reduces the oxygen that fish need to survive.
The PCD assessed the water quality at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok’s Bang Khun Thian District as “very poor”, worse than in 2014. In its findings, it showed large amounts of wastewater were discharged into rivers from households, industries, and agriculture.
In addition, 4,000 metric tons of plastic flow in rivers heading into the Gulf of Thailand every year. Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) signed an agreement with The Ocean Cleanup organization to deploy the Interceptor Original, an automated organized solar-powered system, in the river.
Klong Lat Mayon Floating Market. (credits: Bangkok River Cruise)
The many rivers in this city are used as the main mode of transportation. Especially to visit the main temples located along the banks of the Chao Praya river, such as; Wat Arun and Wat Prakeow.
The city of Bangkok, citing Macrotrends, will have a population of 11,392,000 people in 2024. With the expansion of the city tending towards the periphery, the interior of the city does not seem to have enough room to grow. Thus, vertical development is becoming more and more prevalent.
Bangkok is recorded to have 1,000 skyscrapers. One building is recorded as the 17th tallest building in the world.
Of course, traffic jams are common. “Tuk Tuk”, a type of “bajaj” in Jakarta, is a way to avoid traffic jams, which will take you to exotic places, the old area of Bangkok.
Bangkok is a unique blend of “the old” and the “new”. However, the rapid increase in population in Bangkok has posed various challenges in the management of this metropolis.
Urbanization issue and sustainable development is very significant. Citing Fivestars, it is very important for the city to implement adequate policies to meet the needs of its growing population while preserving the available environmental resources.
Some of them are; optimized water and waste management, the creation of affordable housing, the development of public transportation and road infrastructure to limit traffic congestion and air pollution, and the implementation of incentives aimed at promoting the use of ecological modes of transportation.
Today, it is imperative for local governments to adopt a global and integrated approach. This approach can be done through the development of new residential and commercial areas, strengthening connectivity between urban areas, or support for economic and social development for underprivileged communities.*
