Even though Thailand has been transformed by industrialisation and urbanisation, more than half of its population continues to rely on predictable climatic patterns, with a consistent quantity of rainfall and a relatively stable temperature, to thrive.

Most countries in the developed world have for the past decade or so been conducting in-depth studies on the possible impacts of climate change, as well as finding ways to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which are the main cause of global warming.

In much of the developing world, including Thailand, the public lacks awareness about the crisis, and that largely explains why governments have failed to take action to limit the huge damage being done to the earth's ecosystems or to mitigate negative effects on their citizens. Concern for climate change has, for too long, been seen as the exclusive domain of rich industrialised countries.

The sad irony is that the very people whose lives will be hardest hit by climate change are the most ignorant about the great harm that is coming their way.

According to experts, global warming induced partly by Asia's industrialisation and huge carbon-dioxide emissions can seriously affect agriculture and industry, which in many countries are already competing for limited water resources. But poverty-stricken farmers in rain-fed areas will face the worst of this situation, not just in the form of failed crops but also by a significant rise in sea level.

On Monday, Thailand's leading expert in the field of climate change warned that the trend would become more acute in this country, with the number of days in which the temperature reaches a searing 33 degrees Celsius and higher set to triple from the current average of 20 per year to about 60. Dr Anon Sanitwong na Ayutthaya was citing a projection of temperature levels from a newly-developed future climate model, dealing with the next 30 to 80 years.

Anon warned that the country must put in place policies to cope with climate change without further delay. Successive Thai governments have dragged their feet, refusing to make climate change a top priority or to cooperate with the international community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This has been the case despite the fact that in Thailand, the link between greenhouse gases and climate change is easily discernible.

The rising average temperature has caused power usage in Bangkok to soar. According to official data, the capital consumed 7,522 megawatt hours of electricity in March, outpacing consumption in the same period last year by 2 per cent. Let's not forget that the production of electricity, mostly using fossil fuels, contributes directly to higher volumes of greenhouse gases.

The matter is so serious that the government must take the initiative by promoting better public education to help people understand the risks associated with climate change and how individual members of society can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More resources should also be made available to climate-change experts, meteorologists, civil defence planners and other policy-makers so that we can learn more about the potential impacts on society and the environment from fluctuating climatic conditions.

Failure by the government to take concrete action would be gross negligence that would condemn the country to a disaster that could wipe out decades' worth of national development efforts and cause suffering to untold millions, if not worse.