City report · East Kalimantan, Indonesia
Balikpapan Air quality today
Air quality in Balikpapan currently reads AQI 67 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 67
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 19.1
- tree cover
- 29.8%
- trees in this area
- 79.2K
- more trees needed
- 532
Measured across a 2 km radius around Balikpapan, Balikpapan City, East Kalimantan, Indonesia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 8, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Balikpapan · AQI 67 (Moderate)
Balikpapan's tree count comes to 79,202 trees across 10.63 km² of land, 0 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 532 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Balikpapan today: AQI 67, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 105 km, e.g. Samarinda and Samarinda
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
19.1
PM10
10.2
NO₂
6.4
O₃
75.0
SO₂
6.5
CO
231.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Balikpapan's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 44 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 110 on Nov 5.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Indonesia's ISPU
Where Balikpapan stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Balikpapan: Below target
29.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.63 km² of land.
Trees in this area
79,202
Target trees
79,734
More trees needed
532
CO₂ if planted / yr
11.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Balikpapan lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Balikpapan has lost about 1,840 hectares of forest (about 2,600 football pitches): 34% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,840 haabout 2,600 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 34%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,840 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 43 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 89 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2012, when about 209 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 | 37 ha | under 1 ha | 37 ha |
| 2002 | 53 ha | under 1 ha | 53 ha |
| 2003 | 70 ha | under 1 ha | 70 ha |
| 2004 | 74 ha | under 1 ha | 75 ha |
| 2005 | 104 ha | 1 ha | 105 ha |
| 2006 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2007 | 109 ha | under 1 ha | 109 ha |
| 2008 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2009 | 143 ha | 1 ha | 144 ha |
| 2010 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2011 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2012 | 209 ha | under 1 ha | 209 ha |
| 2013 | 77 ha | under 1 ha | 77 ha |
| 2014 | 89 ha | under 1 ha | 89 ha |
| 2015 | 153 ha | under 1 ha | 153 ha |
| 2016 | 162 ha | under 1 ha | 162 ha |
| 2017 | 102 ha | under 1 ha | 102 ha |
| 2018 | 95 ha | under 1 ha | 95 ha |
| 2019 | 42 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2020 | 43 ha | under 1 ha | 43 ha |
| 2021 | 33 ha | under 1 ha | 33 ha |
| 2022 | 64 ha | under 1 ha | 64 ha |
| 2023 | 57 ha | under 1 ha | 57 ha |
| 2024 | 31 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2025 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 30 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Balikpapan?
- Towns and roadscleared for good75% · 1,380 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good13% · 232 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good12% · 228 ha
Also: unknown causes.
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
- 5,640 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,030 ha
- Overall change
- −609 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Balikpapan shrank from about 5,640 hectares to 5,030 hectares, a net loss of about 609 hectares (−11%). New forest grew on about 502 hectares, but 1,110 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 Balikpapan
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Nusantara35.4 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 48%
- Air quality
- 54
- Loa Janan81.7 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 93
- Samarinda93.2 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 93
- Bontang171.9 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 63
- Banjarbaru327.7 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 83
- Banjarmasin337.5 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 64
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Frequently asked
Questions about Balikpapan
What is the air quality (AQI) in Balikpapan right now?
The latest reading for Balikpapan shows an AQI of 67 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Balikpapan today?
At AQI 67 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Balikpapan been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Balikpapan's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 44 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 110 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Balikpapan's AQI the same as Indonesia's ISPU?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Indonesia's official index is the ISPU (Indeks Standar Pencemar Udara), published by the environment ministry from its own monitoring stations. Its bands are 0–50 Baik (good), 51–100 Sedang (moderate), 101–200 Tidak Sehat (unhealthy), 201–300 Sangat Tidak Sehat (very unhealthy) and over 300 Berbahaya (hazardous). The two indexes use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the same air can score differently on each.
How much forest has the area around Balikpapan lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Balikpapan has lost about 1,840 hectares of forest (about 2,600 football pitches): 34% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 43 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 89 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Balikpapan shrank from about 5,640 hectares to 5,030 hectares, a net loss of about 609 hectares (−11%). New forest grew on about 502 hectares, but 1,110 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Balikpapan?
Balikpapan has an estimated 79,202 trees across the 10.63 km² of land measured — 29.8% tree cover, 0 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Balikpapan need?
Balikpapan needs roughly 532 more trees to close a 0-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 11.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Balikpapan's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Balikpapan; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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