Labour right activists and residents in Chiang Mai staged a Labour Day march through the city on 1 May to demand a reform of the Social Security Scheme so that everyone is entitled to the same benefits. They also call for improvement to workers’ rights, including a four-day work week and an annual minimum wage increase.

In recent weeks, Thailand’s Chiang Mai Province has been engulfed in toxic air pollution, which has reached dangerous levels.  Residents have been forced to live with the smog, as well as unprecedented scorching weather this summer. While people have been advised to stay indoors, many still have to make ends meet. Stopping work means no money to feed themselves and their families. “I am also afraid of PM2.5 entering my body, but I can’t do anything. I have to keep living like this.” said a 40-year-old food stall owner.  Here’s how the bad air is affecting Chiang Mai residents.

A group of Chiang Mai residents were seen holding banners demanding a solution to the city’s chronic air pollution problems at several locations, criticizing the centralized government’s ineffectiveness at solving the problem and decentralization so that local communities can handle forest fire.

Migrants working as cleaners in Chiang Mai are saying that they risk becoming unemployed if they get pregnant, and even if they wanted to get an abortion, it is difficult to access in Thailand.

A group of Chiang Mai residents staged a protest in front of the US Consulate in Chiang Mai on Sunday (8 March) against the US attack on Iran.

In Chiang Mai’s Santitham district, known as a budget-friendly red-light district, a Shan man worked as a sex worker in host bars, drinking with customers and going out with them. But just before the New Year, he lost his job after contracting a sexually transmitted disease. It was not HIV, but it meant he became unemployed.

On Saturday (25 October), activists and residents in Chiang Mai ran 3.5 kilometres through Chiang Mai University to demand release of political prisoners and protest parliament’s refusal to include royal defamation defendants in the amnesty bill for political offences.

A 39-year-old artist has been arrested at Chiang Mai Airport while attempting to leave for Taiwan for allegedly vandalising traffic signs. Scepticism has arisen since the arrest warrant was issued four years ago.

The return of the RTC Chiang Mai City Bus and the Light Rail Transit have sparked some hope for Chiang Mai's public transport system. However, these efforts continue to be hampered by concerns over practicality, insufficient government support, and lax regulation of private transport providers.

Red songthaew, once a Chiang Mai icon, may soon vanish from the city’s streets, outpaced by the rise of ride-hailing apps. Some critics blame the operators' failure to adapt, but the challenges they face are also rooted in failing government policies.