City report · Penang, Malaysia
Bayan Lepas Air quality today
Air quality in Bayan Lepas currently reads AQI 48 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 48
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.6
- tree cover
- 44.1%
- trees in this area
- 139K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 28, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bayan Lepas · AQI 48 (Good)
Bayan Lepas's tree count comes to 138,544 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bayan Lepas today: AQI 48, 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 · Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, 6.6 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.6
PM10
14.1
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 Bayan Lepas's daily AQI at 49 on average, from 40 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide
Where Bayan Lepas stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bayan Lepas: Healthy tree cover
44.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
138,544
Target trees
138,544
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bayan Lepas lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bayan Lepas has lost about 1,310 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2018: satellite photo from February 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,310 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 16%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,300 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 54 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 69 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 80 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 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2003 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2004 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 31 ha |
| 2005 | 55 ha | under 1 ha | 55 ha |
| 2006 | 46 ha | under 1 ha | 46 ha |
| 2007 | 52 ha | under 1 ha | 52 ha |
| 2008 | 56 ha | under 1 ha | 56 ha |
| 2009 | 63 ha | under 1 ha | 63 ha |
| 2010 | 67 ha | under 1 ha | 67 ha |
| 2011 | 64 ha | under 1 ha | 64 ha |
| 2012 | 33 ha | under 1 ha | 33 ha |
| 2013 | 33 ha | under 1 ha | 33 ha |
| 2014 | 76 ha | 1 ha | 77 ha |
| 2015 | 73 ha | under 1 ha | 74 ha |
| 2016 | 80 ha | under 1 ha | 80 ha |
| 2017 | 76 ha | 2 ha | 78 ha |
| 2018 | 62 ha | 2 ha | 64 ha |
| 2019 | 49 ha | under 1 ha | 49 ha |
| 2020 | 74 ha | under 1 ha | 74 ha |
| 2021 | 69 ha | under 1 ha | 69 ha |
| 2022 | 54 ha | under 1 ha | 55 ha |
| 2023 | 47 ha | under 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2024 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2025 | 58 ha | 1 ha | 59 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bayan Lepas?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good56% · 737 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good43% · 565 ha
Also: shifting farming, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 9,850 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,490 ha
- Overall change
- −364 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bayan Lepas shrank from about 9,850 hectares to 9,490 hectares, a net loss of about 364 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 345 hectares, but 709 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 Bayan Lepas
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Butterworth15.9 km
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- Air quality
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- Bukit Mertajam23.9 km
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- Air quality
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- Tasek Glugor33.1 km
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- Air quality
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- Kulim34.1 km
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- Air quality
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- Kota Kuala Muda34.3 km
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- Air quality
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- Sungai Petani46.1 km
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- Air quality
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bayan Lepas
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bayan Lepas right now?
The latest reading for Bayan Lepas shows an AQI of 48 (Good), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, 6.6 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bayan Lepas today?
At AQI 48 (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 Bayan Lepas been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bayan Lepas's daily AQI at 49 on average, from 40 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Bayan Lepas'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 Bayan Lepas lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bayan Lepas has lost about 1,310 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 54 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 69 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bayan Lepas shrank from about 9,850 hectares to 9,490 hectares, a net loss of about 364 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 345 hectares, but 709 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bayan Lepas?
Bayan Lepas has an estimated 138,544 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 44.1% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bayan Lepas need?
Bayan Lepas has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Bayan Lepas's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Bayan Lepas, 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 Bayan Lepas; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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