City report · Australia
Canberra Air quality today
Air quality in Canberra currently reads AQI 11 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 11
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.0
- tree cover
- 42.2%
- trees in this area
- 107K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Canberra ACT 2601, Australia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Canberra · AQI 11 (Good)
Canberra's tree count comes to 106,988 trees across 10.14 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Canberra today: AQI 11, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 02:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Wanniassa, 13.8 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.0
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Darkmyre
- 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 Canberra's daily AQI at 20 on average, from 11 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 47 on Nov 6.
Where Canberra stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Canberra: Healthy tree cover
42.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.14 km² of land.
Trees in this area
106,988
Target trees
106,988
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Canberra lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Canberra has lost about 1,290 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (78%) 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
- 1,290 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 39%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,000 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2003, when about 599 hectares of forest were lost.
Canberra's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 89 ha | 5 ha | 94 ha |
| 2002 | 243 ha | 154 ha | 397 ha |
| 2003 | 512 ha | 87 ha | 599 ha |
| 2004 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2005 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2006 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2007 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 17 ha | 3 ha | 20 ha |
| 2010 | 19 ha | 5 ha | 24 ha |
| 2011 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 12 ha |
| 2012 | 14 ha | 9 ha | 23 ha |
| 2013 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | 8 ha | 3 ha | 11 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 8 ha | 7 ha | 15 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2020 | 7 ha | 6 ha | 13 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Canberra?
- Towns and roadscleared for good42% · 544 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good35% · 459 ha
- Loggingcan grow back21% · 273 ha
Also: 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
- 5,470 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,900 ha
- Overall change
- −574 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Canberra shrank from about 5,470 hectares to 4,900 hectares, a net loss of about 574 hectares (−10%). New forest grew on about 338 hectares, but 912 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 Canberra
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Wollongong187.3 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 16
- Central Coast291.3 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 75%
- Air quality
- 59
- Newcastle357.9 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 112
- Bendigo465.7 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 9
Also compared:Canberra vs BrisbaneCanberra vs Perth
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Frequently asked
Questions about Canberra
What is the air quality (AQI) in Canberra right now?
The latest reading for Canberra shows an AQI of 11 (Good), measured Nov 12, 02:00 local time by the Wanniassa ground monitoring station, 13.8 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Canberra today?
At AQI 11 (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 Canberra been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Canberra's daily AQI at 20 on average, from 11 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 47 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Canberra lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Canberra has lost about 1,290 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (78%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Canberra shrank from about 5,470 hectares to 4,900 hectares, a net loss of about 574 hectares (−10%). New forest grew on about 338 hectares, but 912 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Canberra?
Canberra has an estimated 106,988 trees across the 10.14 km² of land measured — 42.2% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Canberra need?
Canberra has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Canberra's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Canberra ACT 2601, 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 Canberra ACT 2601; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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