City report · Eastern Cape, South Africa
Bhisho Air quality today
Air quality in Bhisho currently reads AQI 22 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 22
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 3.6
- tree cover
- 27.8%
- trees in this area
- 87.3K
- more trees needed
- 6.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bisho Central, Bhisho, 5605, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bhisho · AQI 22 (Good)
Bhisho's tree count comes to 87,336 trees across 12.57 km², 2 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 6,912 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bhisho today: AQI 22, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 65 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 65 km, e.g. Mdantsane and KuGompo City
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
3.6
PM10
5.1
NO₂
1.1
O₃
111.0
SO₂
5.0
CO
99.0
- 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 Bhisho's daily AQI at 40 on average, from 30 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 75 on Nov 11.
Where Bhisho stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bhisho: Below target
27.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
87,336
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
6,912
CO₂ if planted / yr
152.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bhisho lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bhisho has lost about 161 hectares of forest (about 230 football pitches): 4.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (54%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 161 haabout 230 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 87 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2019, when about 34 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2004 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2008 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 16 ha | 3 ha | 19 ha |
| 2017 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | 14 ha | 17 ha |
| 2019 | 8 ha | 26 ha | 34 ha |
| 2020 | 9 ha | 10 ha | 19 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bhisho?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good46% · 74 ha
- Loggingcan grow back43% · 69 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.2% · 13 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, 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
- 1,540 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,550 ha
- Overall change
- +11 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bhisho stayed about the same size, at about 1,550 hectares: new forest grew on about 70 hectares, and about 59 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 Bhisho
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Mdantsane32.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 31
- East London47.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 31
- Queenstown118.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 33
- Mthatha188.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 53
- Gqeberha210.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 62
- Kariega214.9 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 26
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bhisho
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bhisho right now?
The latest reading for Bhisho shows an AQI of 22 (Good), observed Nov 11, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 65 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bhisho today?
At AQI 22 (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 Bhisho been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bhisho's daily AQI at 40 on average, from 30 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 75 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 Bhisho lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bhisho has lost about 161 hectares of forest (about 230 football pitches): 4.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (54%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bhisho stayed about the same size, at about 1,550 hectares: new forest grew on about 70 hectares, and about 59 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bhisho?
Bhisho has an estimated 87,336 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 27.8% tree cover, 2 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bhisho need?
Bhisho needs roughly 6,912 more trees to close a 2-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 152.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bhisho'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 Bisho Central; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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