City report · Victoria, Australia
Bendigo Air quality today
Air quality in Bendigo currently reads AQI 9 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 9
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 1.7
- tree cover
- 23.8%
- trees in this area
- 74.5K
- more trees needed
- 19.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bendigo VIC 3550, Australia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 10, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bendigo · AQI 9 (Good)
Bendigo's tree count comes to 74,546 trees across 12.53 km² of land, 6 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 19,419 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bendigo today: AQI 9, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 00:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Bendigo, 2.9 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
1.7
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Environment Protection Authority | EPA Victoria
- 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 Bendigo's daily AQI at 25 on average, from 14 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 52 on Nov 11.
Where Bendigo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bendigo: Below target
23.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.53 km² of land.
Trees in this area
74,546
Target trees
93,965
More trees needed
19,419
CO₂ if planted / yr
427.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bendigo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bendigo has lost about 208 hectares of forest (about 290 football pitches): 1.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (71%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 208 haabout 290 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 147 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2014, when about 40 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | 37 ha | 2 ha | 39 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2006 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2007 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2009 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2010 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 6 ha | 35 ha | 40 ha |
| 2015 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2016 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2017 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 12 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bendigo?
- Towns and roadscleared for good54% · 113 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back23% · 47 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good14% · 30 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, logging, 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
- 12,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 13,600 ha
- Overall change
- +1,270 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bendigo grew from about 12,300 hectares to 13,600 hectares, a net gain of about 1,270 hectares (+10%). New forest grew on about 1,390 hectares, while 119 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 Bendigo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Ballarat97.6 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 7
- Melbourne132.0 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 22
- Geelong154.6 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 31
- Canberra465.7 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 11
- Adelaide550.9 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 41
- Wollongong651.7 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 16
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bendigo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bendigo right now?
The latest reading for Bendigo shows an AQI of 9 (Good), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by the Bendigo ground monitoring station, 2.9 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bendigo today?
At AQI 9 (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 Bendigo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bendigo's daily AQI at 25 on average, from 14 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 52 on Nov 11. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Bendigo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bendigo has lost about 208 hectares of forest (about 290 football pitches): 1.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (71%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bendigo grew from about 12,300 hectares to 13,600 hectares, a net gain of about 1,270 hectares (+10%). New forest grew on about 1,390 hectares, while 119 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bendigo?
Bendigo has an estimated 74,546 trees across the 12.53 km² of land measured — 23.8% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bendigo need?
Bendigo needs roughly 19,419 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 427.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bendigo's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Bendigo VIC 3550, 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 Bendigo VIC 3550; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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