City report · North Sumatra, Indonesia
Belawan Air quality today
Air quality in Belawan currently reads AQI 155 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
AQI 155
Air quality right now
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 83.2
- tree cover
- 37.7%
- trees in this area
- 96.1K
- more trees needed
- 5.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Medan, Medan City, North Sumatra, Indonesia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Belawan · AQI 155 (Unhealthy)
Belawan's tree count comes to 96,053 trees across 10.19 km² of land, 2 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 5,860 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Belawan today: AQI 155, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 20:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 5 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Medan and Kecamatan Beringin
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
83.2
PM10
92.7
NO₂
87.0
O₃
13.0
SO₂
28.9
CO
822.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it
- Windows
- Keep them closed
- Mask
- Wear an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Belawan's daily AQI at 103 on average, from 81 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 179 on Nov 6.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Indonesia's ISPU
Where Belawan stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Belawan: Below target
37.7% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.19 km² of land.
Trees in this area
96,053
Target trees
101,913
More trees needed
5,860
CO₂ if planted / yr
128.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Belawan lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Belawan has lost about 1,360 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): 17% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2020: satellite photo from April 2020 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,360 haabout 1,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 17%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,300 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 231 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 | 23 ha | 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2002 | 14 ha | 2 ha | 16 ha |
| 2003 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2004 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2005 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2006 | 77 ha | 2 ha | 79 ha |
| 2007 | 80 ha | under 1 ha | 81 ha |
| 2008 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 230 ha | 1 ha | 231 ha |
| 2010 | 141 ha | 1 ha | 142 ha |
| 2011 | 40 ha | under 1 ha | 41 ha |
| 2012 | 71 ha | 2 ha | 72 ha |
| 2013 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2014 | 159 ha | 2 ha | 161 ha |
| 2015 | 46 ha | 2 ha | 48 ha |
| 2016 | 65 ha | 6 ha | 71 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2018 | 20 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2019 | 17 ha | 2 ha | 19 ha |
| 2020 | 20 ha | 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2021 | 66 ha | 3 ha | 69 ha |
| 2022 | 24 ha | 6 ha | 31 ha |
| 2023 | 27 ha | 4 ha | 30 ha |
| 2024 | 64 ha | 28 ha | 91 ha |
| 2025 | 24 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Belawan?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good85% · 1,160 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good10% · 136 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back2.5% · 34 ha
Also: 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
- 7,470 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,950 ha
- Overall change
- +1,470 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Belawan grew from about 7,470 hectares to 8,950 hectares, a net gain of about 1,470 hectares (+20%). New forest grew on about 2,390 hectares, while 919 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 Belawan
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Medan21.4 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 166
- Percut26.1 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 166
- Binjai29.4 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 50%
- Air quality
- 63
- Perbaungan38.1 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 54%
- Air quality
- 166
- Tebingtinggi72.8 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 61
- Pematangsiantar100.3 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 52
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Frequently asked
Questions about Belawan
What is the air quality (AQI) in Belawan right now?
The latest reading for Belawan shows an AQI of 155 (Unhealthy), observed Nov 10, 20:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Belawan today?
At AQI 155 (Unhealthy): everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it. Windows: keep them closed. Masks: wear an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Belawan been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Belawan's daily AQI at 103 on average, from 81 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 179 on Nov 6. On 5 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Belawan'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 Belawan lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Belawan has lost about 1,360 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): 17% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Belawan grew from about 7,470 hectares to 8,950 hectares, a net gain of about 1,470 hectares (+20%). New forest grew on about 2,390 hectares, while 919 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Belawan?
Belawan has an estimated 96,053 trees across the 10.19 km² of land measured — 37.7% tree cover, 2 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Belawan need?
Belawan needs roughly 5,860 more trees to close a 2-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 128.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Belawan'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 Medan; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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