City report · Nepal
Biratnagar Air quality today
Air quality in Biratnagar currently reads AQI 196 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Air quality right now
AQI 196
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 119.9
- tree cover
- 22.4%
- trees in this area
- 70.3K
- more trees needed
- 55.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Janpath Tole, Biratnagar, Koshi Province 56613, Nepal (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Biratnagar · AQI 196 (Unhealthy)
Biratnagar's tree count comes to 70,301 trees across 12.56 km² of land, 18 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 55,237 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Biratnagar today: AQI 196, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 20:45 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Biratnagar Metropolitan City ward no 9 Office, 1.4 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
119.9
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Clean Energy Nepal (CEN)
- 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 Biratnagar's daily AQI at 159 on average, from 129 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 214 on Nov 5.
Where Biratnagar stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Biratnagar: Critically low
22.4% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
70,301
Target trees
125,538
More trees needed
55,237
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,215 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Biratnagar lost?
There was very little forest around Biratnagar in 2000, about 41 hectares, and about 6 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
The worst year was 2007, when about 1 hectare 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Biratnagar?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good18% · 1 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good7.1% · under 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown73% · 4 ha
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
- 691 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 803 ha
- Overall change
- +112 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Biratnagar grew from about 691 hectares to 803 hectares, a net gain of about 112 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 137 hectares, while 24 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 Biratnagar
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Purnia77.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 107
- Kishanganj78.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 152
- Lahān83.7 km
Nepal
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 116
- Saharsa93.2 km
India
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 111
- Katihar106.2 km
India
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 107
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Frequently asked
Questions about Biratnagar
What is the air quality (AQI) in Biratnagar right now?
The latest reading for Biratnagar shows an AQI of 196 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 20:45 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Biratnagar Metropolitan City ward no 9 Office, 1.4 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Biratnagar today?
At AQI 196 (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 Biratnagar been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Biratnagar's daily AQI at 159 on average, from 129 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 214 on Nov 5. On 7 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Biratnagar lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Biratnagar in 2000, about 41 hectares, and about 6 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Biratnagar grew from about 691 hectares to 803 hectares, a net gain of about 112 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 137 hectares, while 24 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Biratnagar?
Biratnagar has an estimated 70,301 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 22.4% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Biratnagar need?
Biratnagar needs roughly 55,237 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 1,215 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Biratnagar's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Janpath Tole, 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 Janpath Tole; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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