City report · Sri Lanka
Colombo Air quality today
Air quality in Colombo currently reads AQI 77 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 77
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 18.7
- tree cover
- 12.1%
- trees in this area
- 27.6K
- more trees needed
- 40.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Colombo 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Jul 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Colombo · AQI 77 (Moderate)
Colombo's tree count comes to 27,636 trees across 9.14 km² of land, 18 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 40,882 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Colombo today: AQI 77, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 09:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
18.7
PM10
19.7
NO₂
18.4
O₃
122.0
SO₂
11.7
CO
1385.0
- 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 Colombo's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 55 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 94 on Nov 11.
Where Colombo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Colombo: Critically low
12.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.14 km² of land.
Trees in this area
27,636
Target trees
68,518
More trees needed
40,882
CO₂ if planted / yr
899.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Colombo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Colombo has lost about 45 hectares of forest (about 63 football pitches): 2.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 45 haabout 63 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 34 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2006, when about 7 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 | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2021 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Colombo?
- Towns and roadscleared for good76% · 34 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown24% · 11 ha
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
- 3,190 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,080 ha
- Overall change
- −118 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Colombo shrank from about 3,190 hectares to 3,080 hectares, a net loss of about 118 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 82 hectares, but 200 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 Colombo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Kalmunai225.3 km
Sri Lanka
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 11
- Trincomalee237.6 km
Sri Lanka
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 25
- Thoothukudi277.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 103
- Nāgercoil300.1 km
India
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 83
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Frequently asked
Questions about Colombo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Colombo right now?
The latest reading for Colombo shows an AQI of 77 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 09:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Colombo today?
At AQI 77 (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 Colombo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Colombo's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 55 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 94 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 Colombo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Colombo has lost about 45 hectares of forest (about 63 football pitches): 2.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Colombo shrank from about 3,190 hectares to 3,080 hectares, a net loss of about 118 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 82 hectares, but 200 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Colombo?
Colombo has an estimated 27,636 trees across the 9.14 km² of land measured — 12.1% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Colombo need?
Colombo needs roughly 40,882 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 899.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Colombo's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Colombo 11; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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