Antananarivo
2 km around Antsahabe
Air quality now
AQI 38
16.3%
tree cover
42.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Africa · air quality report · 7 cities
Madagascar air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 7 cities Airleaf measures in Madagascar average AQI 36 (good). The worst air is in Toamasina, at AQI 54, and the cleanest in Fianarantsoa, at AQI 18.
None of the 7 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 86% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 36
Good
US EPA index, across 7 cities
- cities measured
- 7
- worst air: Toamasina
- 54
- cleanest air: Fianarantsoa
- 18
- average tree cover
- 16.5%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Madagascar · average AQI 36
Air quality right now in all 7 cities in Madagascar
Good
Toamasina
2 km around Toamasina
Air quality now
AQI 54
17.0%
tree cover
39.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Antsirabe
2 km around Antsirabe
Air quality now
AQI 29
13.6%
tree cover
51.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Mahajanga
2 km around Mahahanga Tanana
Air quality now
AQI 38
13.4%
tree cover
39.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Fianarantsoa
2 km around Ambalapaiso
Air quality now
AQI 18
32.8%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Toliara
2 km around Tsianaloka
Air quality now
AQI 38
11.0%
tree cover
52.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Antsiranana
2 km around Antsiranana
Air quality now
AQI 34
11.6%
tree cover
56.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Madagascar today?
None of the 7 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 86% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
7 measured cities
- Good6 (86%)
- Moderate1 (14%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How does Madagascar compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Madagascar average cleaner air than 78% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 35%.
Cleaner air than…
- Madagascar
- Beats 78%
More tree cover than…
- Madagascar
- Beats 35%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Madagascar lost?
Since 2001, Madagascar has lost about 5.42 million hectares of forest (about 54,000 km²): 32% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 1.13 million hectares (21%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 5.42 million haabout 54,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 32%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1.13 million 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 | 16,500 ha | 70,600 ha | 87,100 ha |
| 2002 | 23,700 ha | 65,800 ha | 89,500 ha |
| 2003 | 24,500 ha | 59,700 ha | 84,200 ha |
| 2004 | 18,600 ha | 63,400 ha | 82,000 ha |
| 2005 | 29,400 ha | 64,200 ha | 93,600 ha |
| 2006 | 35,100 ha | 35,900 ha | 71,000 ha |
| 2007 | 58,100 ha | 131,000 ha | 189,000 ha |
| 2008 | 44,400 ha | 79,000 ha | 123,000 ha |
| 2009 | 43,800 ha | 92,900 ha | 137,000 ha |
| 2010 | 40,300 ha | 67,000 ha | 107,000 ha |
| 2011 | 43,900 ha | 119,000 ha | 163,000 ha |
| 2012 | 35,200 ha | 93,400 ha | 129,000 ha |
| 2013 | 46,000 ha | 254,000 ha | 300,000 ha |
| 2014 | 77,200 ha | 340,000 ha | 417,000 ha |
| 2015 | 53,200 ha | 249,000 ha | 302,000 ha |
| 2016 | 53,900 ha | 330,000 ha | 384,000 ha |
| 2017 | 98,700 ha | 412,000 ha | 511,000 ha |
| 2018 | 66,400 ha | 301,000 ha | 367,000 ha |
| 2019 | 52,800 ha | 202,000 ha | 255,000 ha |
| 2020 | 39,100 ha | 202,000 ha | 241,000 ha |
| 2021 | 47,800 ha | 187,000 ha | 235,000 ha |
| 2022 | 43,900 ha | 213,000 ha | 256,000 ha |
| 2023 | 54,300 ha | 249,000 ha | 303,000 ha |
| 2024 | 39,200 ha | 192,000 ha | 231,000 ha |
| 2025 | 42,700 ha | 220,000 ha | 263,000 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 258,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 351,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 511,000 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Madagascar?
- Shifting farmingcan grow back70% · 3.8 million ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good21% · 1.12 million ha
- Wildfirescan grow back6.8% · 369,000 ha
Also: logging, storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, towns and roads, 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
Madagascar as a whole
17.3% of Madagascar was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. Closing that gap nationally would take roughly 7.4B trees across 7.4M hectares. Source: World Bank (FAO).
Build your own
Compare Madagascar with another country
This place
Madagascar
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Madagascar
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
- The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
Air purifiers that keep up with wildfire smoke and winter smog, ranked by verified smoke CADR, with the room each one clears on a smoky day.
- The best air purifiers under $200
Good HEPA air purifiers under $200 at the makers' own prices, compared on verified clean air, room size and what the filters cost each year.
- NIOSH-approved N95 masks for smoke and smog
NIOSH-approved N95 masks and P100 respirators for smog and smoke, and how to get the fit right. Cloth and surgical masks do little against PM2.5.
Frequently asked
Air quality in Madagascar: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Madagascar today?
Right now the 7 cities Airleaf measures in Madagascar average AQI 36 (good). The worst air is in Toamasina, at AQI 54, and the cleanest in Fianarantsoa, at AQI 18. None of the 7 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 86% have Good air.
Which city in Madagascar has the worst air right now?
Toamasina, at AQI 54 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in Madagascar has the cleanest air right now?
Fianarantsoa, at AQI 18 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Madagascar has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Madagascar safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 6 cities are Good, 1 city is Moderate. At the national average of AQI 36: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has Madagascar lost since 2001?
About 5.42 million ha from 2001 to 2025, 32% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 1.13 million ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Madagascar?
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.
More of Africa
AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCameroonCentral African RepublicChadComorosDemocratic Republic of the CongoDjiboutiEgyptEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaLesothoLiberiaLibyaMalawiMaliMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNigerNigeriaRepublic of the CongoReunionRwandaSaint HelenaSao Tome and PrincipeSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth SudanSudanTanzaniaTogoTunisiaUgandaWestern SaharaZambiaZimbabwe
Your own street