City report · Kedah, Malaysia
Alor Setar Air quality today
Air quality in Alor Setar currently reads AQI 47 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 47
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.4
- tree cover
- 23.6%
- trees in this area
- 73.2K
- more trees needed
- 19.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kampung Berjaya, 05150 Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Alor Setar · AQI 47 (Good)
Alor Setar's tree count comes to 73,178 trees across 12.41 km² of land, 6 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 19,845 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Alor Setar today: AQI 47, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 23:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia, 2.3 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.4
PM10
14.0
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Alor Setar's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 27 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 7.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide
Where Alor Setar stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Alor Setar: Below target
23.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.41 km² of land.
Trees in this area
73,178
Target trees
93,023
More trees needed
19,845
CO₂ if planted / yr
436.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Alor Setar lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Alor Setar has lost about 77 hectares of forest (about 110 football pitches): 1.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 77 haabout 110 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 65 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 21 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 16 ha | 5 ha | 21 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2016 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Alor Setar?
- Towns and roadscleared for good56% · 44 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good27% · 21 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown16% · 13 ha
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 1,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,720 ha
- Overall change
- +20 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Alor Setar stayed about the same size, at about 1,720 hectares: new forest grew on about 107 hectares, and about 87 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Alor Setar
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Kota Kuala Muda59.3 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 55
- Tasek Glugor72.9 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 58%
- Air quality
- 53
- Butterworth80.3 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 54
- Paya Terubong83.7 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 79%
- Air quality
- 48
- Bukit Mertajam85.1 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 56
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Frequently asked
Questions about Alor Setar
What is the air quality (AQI) in Alor Setar right now?
The latest reading for Alor Setar shows an AQI of 47 (Good), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by the Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia ground monitoring station, 2.3 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Alor Setar today?
At AQI 47 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Alor Setar been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Alor Setar's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 27 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Alor Setar's AQI the same as Malaysia's API (IPU)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Malaysia's Department of Environment (Jabatan Alam Sekitar) publishes its own Air Pollutant Index, the API or Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU), every hour for each of its monitoring stations on APIMS (apims.doe.gov.my). Both scales call 0–50 good and 51–100 moderate; above that the IPU runs 101–200 unhealthy, 201–300 very unhealthy and over 300 hazardous. The two use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the numbers for the same hour often differ. For the official IPU reading, check the nearest station on APIMS.
How much forest has the area around Alor Setar lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Alor Setar has lost about 77 hectares of forest (about 110 football pitches): 1.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Alor Setar stayed about the same size, at about 1,720 hectares: new forest grew on about 107 hectares, and about 87 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Alor Setar?
Alor Setar has an estimated 73,178 trees across the 12.41 km² of land measured — 23.6% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Alor Setar need?
Alor Setar needs roughly 19,845 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 436.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Alor Setar's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kampung Berjaya, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Kampung Berjaya; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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