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Air quality now: AQI57Moderate, Bitung

City report · North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Bitung Air quality today

Air quality in Bitung currently reads AQI 57 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

AQI 57

Air quality right now

Moderate

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
7.2
tree cover
32.1%
trees in this area
86.1K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 2 km radius around Bitung, Bitung City, North Sulawesi, Indonesia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 26, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Bitung · AQI 57 (Moderate)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Sep 26, 2026

Bitung's tree count comes to 86,122 trees across 10.73 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Bitung today: AQI 57, Moderate

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Model estimate · no ground station nearby

Health signal

Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

PM2.5

7.2

PM10

9.3

NO₂

2.7

O₃

35.0

SO₂

2.6

CO

263.0

Outdoor exercise
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
Mask
Not needed for most people
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bitung's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 35 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 152 on Nov 6.

Last 7 daysavg 58 · peak 152
Nov 5: AQI 89 (peak 141)Nov 6: AQI 75 (peak 152)Nov 7: AQI 57 (peak 92)Nov 8: AQI 41 (peak 82)Nov 9: AQI 35 (peak 64)Nov 10: AQI 44 (peak 67)Nov 11: AQI 63 (peak 67)
Nov 5Nov 11

This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Indonesia's ISPU

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

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Bitung: Healthy tree cover

32.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.73 km² of land.

Target reached

Trees in this area

86,122

Target trees

86,122

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Bitung lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bitung has lost about 2,110 hectares of forest (about 3,000 football pitches): 10% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (92%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.

Satellite image of the area around Bitung, November 2017

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

Forest lost since 2001
2,110 haabout 3,000 football pitches
Share of its forest
10%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
1,950 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

Forest loss is speeding up: about 153 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 78 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2023, when about 461 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Bitung, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Bitung, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.461

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Bitung, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
200125 ha5 ha30 ha
200257 ha6 ha62 ha
200319 ha5 ha24 ha
2004151 ha11 ha162 ha
200511 ha4 ha15 ha
200652 ha4 ha56 ha
200778 ha7 ha85 ha
200848 ha2 ha49 ha
200935 ha1 ha36 ha
201065 ha3 ha68 ha
2011119 ha6 ha125 ha
201248 ha2 ha50 ha
201316 haunder 1 ha17 ha
2014138 ha4 ha142 ha
201532 ha9 ha41 ha
201635 ha19 ha54 ha
201756 ha5 ha61 ha
2018131 ha4 ha135 ha
2019109 ha7 ha116 ha
202022 haunder 1 ha23 ha
2021119 ha8 ha127 ha
202291 ha25 ha116 ha
2023443 ha18 ha461 ha
202425 ha2 ha26 ha
202529 ha4 ha33 ha

What is causing deforestation around Bitung?

  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good82% · 1,740 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good10% · 214 ha
  • Shifting farmingcan grow back3.1% · 65 ha

Also: logging, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
20,900 ha
Forest in 2020
19,700 ha
Overall change
−1,260 haless forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bitung shrank from about 20,900 hectares to 19,700 hectares, a net loss of about 1,260 hectares (−6%). New forest grew on about 20 hectares, but 1,280 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 Bitung

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

  • Manado

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    31.4 km
    Tree cover
    27%
    Air quality
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  • Kotamobagu

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    Air quality
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  • Gorontalo

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    Air quality
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  • Ternate

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    Tree cover
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    Air quality
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  • Toli-Toli

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    481.3 km
    Tree cover
    56%
    Air quality
    18
  • General Santos

    Philippines

    519.5 km
    Tree cover
    31%
    Air quality
    6

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

Questions about Bitung

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

The latest reading for Bitung shows an AQI of 57 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Bitung today?

At AQI 57 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.

What has the air quality in Bitung been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bitung's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 35 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 152 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Is Bitung'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 Bitung lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bitung has lost about 2,110 hectares of forest (about 3,000 football pitches): 10% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (92%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is speeding up: about 153 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 78 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bitung shrank from about 20,900 hectares to 19,700 hectares, a net loss of about 1,260 hectares (−6%). New forest grew on about 20 hectares, but 1,280 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Bitung?

Bitung has an estimated 86,122 trees across the 10.73 km² of land measured — 32.1% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Bitung need?

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

How are Bitung'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 Bitung; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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