City report · Western Cape, South Africa
Cape Town Air quality today
Air quality in Cape Town currently reads AQI 46 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 46
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.2
- tree cover
- 15.2%
- trees in this area
- 44.2K
- more trees needed
- 43.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Cape Town City Centre, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cape Town · AQI 46 (Good)
Cape Town's tree count comes to 44,219 trees across 11.64 km² of land, 15 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 43,055 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cape Town today: AQI 46, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Foreshore-NAQI, 1.3 km away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.2
PM10
18.7
NO₂
17.4
O₃
35.6
SO₂
3.1
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · South Africa, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS)
- 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 Cape Town's daily AQI at 73 on average, from 55 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 178 on Nov 9.
Where Cape Town stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cape Town: Critically low
15.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.64 km² of land.
Trees in this area
44,219
Target trees
87,274
More trees needed
43,055
CO₂ if planted / yr
947.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cape Town lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cape Town has lost about 642 hectares of forest (about 900 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 139 hectares (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 642 haabout 900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 15%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 139 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2018, when about 147 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Cape Town's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 14 ha | 14 ha | 28 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | 6 ha | 11 ha |
| 2003 | 11 ha | 20 ha | 31 ha |
| 2004 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2005 | 4 ha | 6 ha | 10 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 17 ha | 18 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | 22 ha | 29 ha |
| 2008 | 11 ha | 9 ha | 20 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | 19 ha | 23 ha |
| 2010 | 10 ha | 3 ha | 13 ha |
| 2011 | 9 ha | 11 ha | 20 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | 5 ha | 9 ha | 15 ha |
| 2014 | 7 ha | 11 ha | 18 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | 11 ha | 14 ha |
| 2017 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2018 | 6 ha | 141 ha | 147 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | 14 ha | 19 ha |
| 2020 | 3 ha | 51 ha | 54 ha |
| 2021 | 8 ha | 96 ha | 103 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | 4 ha | 6 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | 22 ha | 26 ha |
| 2025 | 8 ha | 10 ha | 18 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Cape Town?
- Wildfirescan grow back63% · 407 ha
- Loggingcan grow back14% · 92 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good12% · 80 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 2,770 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,720 ha
- Overall change
- −55 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cape Town stayed about the same size, at about 2,720 hectares: new forest grew on about 85 hectares, and about 141 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 Cape Town
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Somerset West40.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 79
- Paarl55.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 44
- Worcester99.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 30
- George372.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 37
- Kariega644.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 26
Also compared:Cape Town vs PretoriaCape Town vs JohannesburgCape Town vs Durban
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Frequently asked
Questions about Cape Town
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cape Town right now?
The latest reading for Cape Town shows an AQI of 46 (Good), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Foreshore-NAQI, 1.3 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Cape Town today?
At AQI 46 (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 Cape Town been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cape Town's daily AQI at 73 on average, from 55 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 178 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Cape Town lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cape Town has lost about 642 hectares of forest (about 900 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 139 hectares (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cape Town stayed about the same size, at about 2,720 hectares: new forest grew on about 85 hectares, and about 141 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Cape Town?
Cape Town has an estimated 44,219 trees across the 11.64 km² of land measured — 15.2% tree cover, 15 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cape Town need?
Cape Town needs roughly 43,055 more trees to close a 15-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 947.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Cape Town's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Cape Town City Centre, 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 Cape Town City Centre; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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