City report · India
Chandigarh Air quality today
Air quality in Chandigarh currently reads AQI 152 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Air quality right now
AQI 152
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 57.3
- tree cover
- 50.1%
- trees in this area
- 157K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Sector 18A, 18A, Sector 18, Chandigarh, 160018, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Chandigarh · AQI 152 (Unhealthy)
Chandigarh's tree count comes to 157,394 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Chandigarh today: AQI 152, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 21:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Sector-25, Chandigarh - CPCC, 3 km away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
57.3
PM10
115.0
NO₂
107.0
O₃
2.2
SO₂
33.5
CO
1.7
Data: OpenAQ · CPCB, Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India (GODL-India)
- 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 Chandigarh's daily AQI at 131 on average, from 102 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 186 on Nov 9.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Chandigarh stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Chandigarh: Healthy tree cover
50.1% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
157,394
Target trees
157,394
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Chandigarh lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Chandigarh has lost about 35 hectares of forest (about 49 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 35 haabout 49 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 25 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2006, when about 6 hectares 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 | 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2007 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 | 2 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Chandigarh?
- Towns and roadscleared for good40% · 14 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good30% · 10 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back2.3% · under 1 ha
Also: 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
- 4,810 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,110 ha
- Overall change
- +307 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Chandigarh grew from about 4,810 hectares to 5,110 hectares, a net gain of about 307 hectares (+6.4%). New forest grew on about 441 hectares, while 135 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Chandigarh
What is the air quality (AQI) in Chandigarh right now?
The latest reading for Chandigarh shows an AQI of 152 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 21:00 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Sector-25, Chandigarh - CPCC, 3 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 Chandigarh today?
At AQI 152 (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 Chandigarh been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Chandigarh's daily AQI at 131 on average, from 102 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 186 on Nov 9. On 7 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Chandigarh's AQI the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
How much forest has the area around Chandigarh lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Chandigarh has lost about 35 hectares of forest (about 49 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Chandigarh grew from about 4,810 hectares to 5,110 hectares, a net gain of about 307 hectares (+6.4%). New forest grew on about 441 hectares, while 135 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Chandigarh?
Chandigarh has an estimated 157,394 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 50.1% tree cover, already past the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Chandigarh need?
Chandigarh has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Chandigarh's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Sector 18A, 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 Sector 18A; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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