City report · New Zealand
Christchurch Air quality today
Air quality in Christchurch currently reads AQI 26 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 26
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.6
- tree cover
- 19.1%
- trees in this area
- 59.9K
- more trees needed
- 34.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Christchurch Central City, Christchurch, New Zealand (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 3, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Christchurch · AQI 26 (Good)
Christchurch's tree count comes to 59,944 trees across 12.56 km² of land, 11 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 34,209 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Christchurch today: AQI 26, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 05:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Christchurch - St Albans EP, 2.8 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.6
PM10
7.7
NO₂
12.2
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · Environment Canterbury
- 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 Christchurch's daily AQI at 22 on average, from 8 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 7.
Where Christchurch stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Christchurch: Below target
19.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
59,944
Target trees
94,153
More trees needed
34,209
CO₂ if planted / yr
752.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Christchurch lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Christchurch has lost about 829 hectares of forest (about 1,200 football pitches): 27% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 135 hectares (16%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from January 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 829 haabout 1,200 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 27%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 135 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 16 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 52 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 187 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 | 2 ha | 53 ha | 55 ha |
| 2002 | 9 ha | 21 ha | 29 ha |
| 2003 | 6 ha | 12 ha | 18 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | 10 ha | 16 ha |
| 2005 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 11 ha |
| 2006 | 4 ha | 6 ha | 10 ha |
| 2007 | 11 ha | 5 ha | 17 ha |
| 2008 | 7 ha | 41 ha | 48 ha |
| 2009 | 6 ha | 44 ha | 50 ha |
| 2010 | 8 ha | 14 ha | 22 ha |
| 2011 | 13 ha | 25 ha | 38 ha |
| 2012 | 8 ha | 27 ha | 35 ha |
| 2013 | 6 ha | 35 ha | 42 ha |
| 2014 | 7 ha | 72 ha | 79 ha |
| 2015 | 6 ha | 15 ha | 21 ha |
| 2016 | 10 ha | 23 ha | 33 ha |
| 2017 | 6 ha | 182 ha | 187 ha |
| 2018 | 6 ha | 33 ha | 39 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 40 ha | 41 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 27 ha | 28 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Christchurch?
- Loggingcan grow back79% · 654 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good13% · 104 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.7% · 31 ha
Also: wildfires, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 1,790 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,620 ha
- Overall change
- −164 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Christchurch shrank from about 1,790 hectares to 1,620 hectares, a net loss of about 164 hectares (−9.2%). New forest grew on about 168 hectares, but 333 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 Christchurch
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Lower Hutt318.6 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 23
- Tauranga715.1 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 21
- Manukau City751.8 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 54
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Frequently asked
Questions about Christchurch
What is the air quality (AQI) in Christchurch right now?
The latest reading for Christchurch shows an AQI of 26 (Good), measured Nov 12, 05:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Christchurch - St Albans EP, 2.8 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Christchurch today?
At AQI 26 (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 Christchurch been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Christchurch's daily AQI at 22 on average, from 8 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Christchurch lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Christchurch has lost about 829 hectares of forest (about 1,200 football pitches): 27% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 135 hectares (16%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 16 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 52 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Christchurch shrank from about 1,790 hectares to 1,620 hectares, a net loss of about 164 hectares (−9.2%). New forest grew on about 168 hectares, but 333 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Christchurch?
Christchurch has an estimated 59,944 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 19.1% tree cover, 11 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Christchurch need?
Christchurch needs roughly 34,209 more trees to close a 11-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 752.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Christchurch's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Christchurch Central City, 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 Christchurch Central City; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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