In 1955, His Majesty visited his subjects in the northeast. When passing the Phuphan Mountain Range, His Majesty saw that drought had increased in frequency and severity because of seasonal changes and deforestation in the region. Environmental conditions from ground level up to the cloud base were not conducive to water vapor condensation that would form clouds and precipitate, bringing rain. His Majesty observed that there were a lot of clouds in the sky but no precipitation. Rainfall in the area had been less than normal, sometimes not at all. Long dry spells were the result even though the southwest monsoon, the rainy season, had begun.