City report · North Chungcheong, South Korea
Chungju Air quality today
Air quality in Chungju currently reads AQI 82 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 82
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 26.0
- tree cover
- 5.9%
- trees in this area
- 18.3K
- more trees needed
- 74.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Yeseong 3-gil, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Chungju · AQI 82 (Moderate)
Chungju's tree count comes to 18,276 trees across 12.39 km² of land, 24 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 74,652 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Chungju today: AQI 82, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 00:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · 칠금동, 1 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
26.0
PM10
58.0
NO₂
31.6
O₃
17.5
SO₂
7.6
CO
767.5
Data: OpenAQ · Korea Air Ministry of Environment, Korea Environment Corporation · AirKorea
- 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 Chungju's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 47 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 85 on Nov 11.
Where Chungju stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Chungju: Critically low
5.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.39 km² of land.
Trees in this area
18,276
Target trees
92,928
More trees needed
74,652
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,642 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Chungju lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Chungju has lost about 1,370 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 404 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,370 haabout 1,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 12%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 404 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 64 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 62 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2009, when about 185 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 | 8 ha | 38 ha | 45 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | 12 ha | 15 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | 12 ha | 16 ha |
| 2004 | 15 ha | 40 ha | 55 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 6 ha | 8 ha |
| 2006 | 20 ha | 21 ha | 42 ha |
| 2007 | 11 ha | 38 ha | 49 ha |
| 2008 | 15 ha | 25 ha | 39 ha |
| 2009 | 156 ha | 29 ha | 185 ha |
| 2010 | 36 ha | 27 ha | 62 ha |
| 2011 | 5 ha | 33 ha | 38 ha |
| 2012 | 7 ha | 16 ha | 22 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 18 ha | 19 ha |
| 2014 | 38 ha | 41 ha | 79 ha |
| 2015 | 7 ha | 61 ha | 68 ha |
| 2016 | 4 ha | 43 ha | 47 ha |
| 2017 | 12 ha | 53 ha | 65 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | 54 ha | 58 ha |
| 2019 | 9 ha | 52 ha | 60 ha |
| 2020 | 7 ha | 73 ha | 79 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | 48 ha | 50 ha |
| 2022 | 9 ha | 52 ha | 61 ha |
| 2023 | 7 ha | 92 ha | 99 ha |
| 2024 | 9 ha | 47 ha | 56 ha |
| 2025 | 16 ha | 38 ha | 54 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Chungju?
- Loggingcan grow back69% · 945 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good26% · 357 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good3.4% · 47 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
- 14,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 14,000 ha
- Overall change
- −765 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Chungju shrank from about 14,700 hectares to 14,000 hectares, a net loss of about 765 hectares (−5.2%). New forest grew on about 235 hectares, but 1,000 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 Chungju
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Wŏnju41.7 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 82
- Yeoju44.1 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 99
- Cheongju-si54.3 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 115
- Icheon-si54.7 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 121
- Sangju65.8 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 84
- Sejong71.0 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 117
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Frequently asked
Questions about Chungju
What is the air quality (AQI) in Chungju right now?
The latest reading for Chungju shows an AQI of 82 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is 칠금동, 1 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Chungju today?
At AQI 82 (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 Chungju been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Chungju's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 47 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 85 on Nov 11. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Chungju lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Chungju has lost about 1,370 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 404 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 64 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 62 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Chungju shrank from about 14,700 hectares to 14,000 hectares, a net loss of about 765 hectares (−5.2%). New forest grew on about 235 hectares, but 1,000 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Chungju?
Chungju has an estimated 18,276 trees across the 12.39 km² of land measured — 5.9% tree cover, 24 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Chungju need?
Chungju needs roughly 74,652 more trees to close a 24-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,642 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Chungju's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Yeseong 3-gil, 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 Yeseong 3-gil; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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