Becoming a Crisis: Shifting Narratives of Seasonal Air Pollution in Northern Thailand (1996-2019)

Chiang Mai, Thailand, has long experienced seasonal air pollution episodes at the end of the dry season (February-April). While the severity and length of the episodes vary annually, popular narratives describe how the "haze crisis" is worsening. In this article, we address the role of the media in driving the growing awareness of seasonal air pollution in Chiang Mai. The article contributes to scholarship on the politics of the representation of environmental problems and the understanding of discourses and practices through which natural phenomena are historically produced and become known. It takes into account social relations of power by addressing local environmental politics and how they are framed by political economic interests. Based on the analysis of three Thai national newspapers over a 25-year period as well as extensive fieldwork and interviews in Chiang Mai Province, we chronicle the development of a collective concern about seasonal air pollution and its political-ecological drivers and consequences. Finally, we demonstrate how this shared perception of a worsening haze crisis is driven by ongoing debates surrounding the use of forests, agro-capitalism, and legitimate forms of political power. This article contributes to emerging scholarship in environmental media studies that addresses how environmental changes become environmental crises.