Road Town
2 km around Botanic Station
Air quality now
AQI 51
75.4%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
North America · air quality report · 1 city
British Virgin Islands air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Airleaf measures 1 city in the British Virgin Islands. Road Town reads AQI 51 right now.
- cities measured
- 1
- national forest cover
- 66.0%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
British Virgin Islands
Air quality in Road Town right now
Moderate
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has the British Virgin Islands lost?
Since 2001, the British Virgin Islands has lost about 255 hectares of forest (about 360 football pitches): 4.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (66%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 255 haabout 360 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 170 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2011 | 12 ha | 2 ha | 14 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | 113 ha | 72 ha | 185 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
The worst year was 2017, when about 185 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in the British Virgin Islands?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good42% · 108 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back31% · 79 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good24% · 61 ha
Also: unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
British Virgin Islands as a whole
66.0% of the British Virgin Islands was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. That already clears the benchmark — the city reports above show where cover is still thin locally. Source: World Bank (FAO).
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British Virgin Islands
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Frequently asked
Air quality in the British Virgin Islands: your questions answered
What is the air quality in the British Virgin Islands today?
Airleaf measures 1 city in the British Virgin Islands. Road Town reads AQI 51 right now.
How much forest has the British Virgin Islands lost since 2001?
About 255 ha from 2001 to 2025, 5% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 170 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in the British Virgin Islands?
Each city's reading is the US EPA air quality index, from ground monitoring stations where one has reported recently nearby, and from the CAMS atmospheric model elsewhere; each city's report says which. Tree cover is measured over the same 2 km radius in every city, so the cities compare like for like.
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