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Air quality now: AQI40Good, Bintulu

City report · Sarawak, Malaysia

Bintulu Air quality today

Air quality in Bintulu currently reads AQI 40 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

AQI 40

Air quality right now

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
7.2
tree cover
43.8%
trees in this area
112K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 2 km radius around Kampung Baru Sebuan Besar, 97000 Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Jun 6, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Bintulu · AQI 40 (Good)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Jun 6, 2026

Bintulu's tree count comes to 112,421 trees across 10.27 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Bintulu today: AQI 40, 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 · Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, 1.4 km away

Health signal

Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

PM2.5

7.2

PM10

14.0

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 Bintulu's daily AQI at 24 on average, from 13 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 4.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 24 · peak 55
Nov 4: AQI 32 (peak 55)Nov 5: AQI 22 (peak 31)Nov 6: AQI 33 (peak 39)Nov 7: AQI 21 (peak 23)Nov 8: AQI 13 (peak 20)Nov 9: AQI 18 (peak 28)Nov 10: AQI 28 (peak 46)
Nov 4Nov 10

This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide

Where Bintulu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Bintulu: Healthy tree cover

43.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.27 km² of land.

Target reached

Trees in this area

112,421

Target trees

112,421

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Bintulu lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bintulu has lost about 9,250 hectares of forest (about 13,000 football pitches): 62% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.

Satellite image of the area around Bintulu, July 2017

2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 4 km south of the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
9,250 haabout 13,000 football pitches
Share of its forest
62%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
9,010 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

Forest loss is slowing down: about 200 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 310 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2007, when about 780 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Bintulu, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Bintulu, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.780

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Bintulu, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
2001261 ha2 ha263 ha
2002199 haunder 1 ha199 ha
2003723 haunder 1 ha723 ha
2004278 ha1 ha279 ha
2005303 ha1 ha304 ha
2006150 ha8 ha158 ha
2007697 ha83 ha780 ha
2008505 ha3 ha508 ha
2009528 haunder 1 ha528 ha
2010285 haunder 1 ha285 ha
2011598 haunder 1 ha598 ha
2012715 haunder 1 ha715 ha
2013242 haunder 1 ha242 ha
2014403 ha97 ha500 ha
2015599 ha15 ha614 ha
2016683 ha2 ha685 ha
2017292 haunder 1 ha292 ha
2018159 haunder 1 ha159 ha
2019205 haunder 1 ha205 ha
2020211 haunder 1 ha211 ha
2021207 ha3 ha210 ha
202272 ha4 ha76 ha
2023159 ha2 ha161 ha
2024293 ha1 ha294 ha
2025248 ha11 ha259 ha

What is causing deforestation around Bintulu?

  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good83% · 7,680 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good10% · 948 ha
  • Mining and energycleared for good4.2% · 392 ha

Also: logging, wildfires, 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
13,700 ha
Forest in 2020
11,400 ha
Overall change
−2,300 haless forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bintulu shrank from about 13,700 hectares to 11,400 hectares, a net loss of about 2,300 hectares (−17%). New forest grew on about 817 hectares, but 3,120 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 Bintulu

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

  • Sibu

    Malaysia

    166.0 km
    Tree cover
    49%
    Air quality
    36
  • Miri

    Malaysia

    173.5 km
    Tree cover
    48%
    Air quality
    37
  • Kuala Belait

    Brunei

    206.1 km
    Tree cover
    38%
    Air quality
    28
  • Tutong

    Brunei

    255.4 km
    Tree cover
    62%
    Air quality
    65
  • Bandar Seri Begawan

    Brunei

    285.4 km
    Tree cover
    56%
    Air quality
    27
  • Kuching

    Malaysia

    349.7 km
    Tree cover
    23%
    Air quality
    54

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Bintulu air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about Bintulu

What is the air quality (AQI) in Bintulu right now?

The latest reading for Bintulu shows an AQI of 40 (Good), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by the Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia ground monitoring station, 1.4 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Bintulu today?

At AQI 40 (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 Bintulu been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bintulu's daily AQI at 24 on average, from 13 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Is Bintulu'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 Bintulu lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bintulu has lost about 9,250 hectares of forest (about 13,000 football pitches): 62% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 200 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 310 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bintulu shrank from about 13,700 hectares to 11,400 hectares, a net loss of about 2,300 hectares (−17%). New forest grew on about 817 hectares, but 3,120 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Bintulu?

Bintulu has an estimated 112,421 trees across the 10.27 km² of land measured — 43.8% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Bintulu need?

Bintulu has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.

How are Bintulu's air quality and tree cover measured?

Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kampung Baru Sebuan Besar, 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 Kampung Baru Sebuan Besar; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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