Kuala Lumpur
2 km around Perdana Botanical Gardens
Air quality now
AQI 59
44.2%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Asia · air quality report · 56 cities
Malaysia air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 56 cities Airleaf measures in Malaysia average AQI 59 (moderate). The worst air is in Iskandar Puteri, at AQI 112, and the cleanest in Bintulu, at AQI 29.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 61 across 51 cities. 5% of the 56 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 27% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 59
Moderate
US EPA index, across 56 cities
- cities measured
- 56
- worst air: Iskandar Puteri
- 112
- cleanest air: Bintulu
- 29
- average tree cover
- 38.7%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Malaysia · average AQI 59
Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in Malaysia
Moderate
Johor Bahru
2 km around Bandar Johor Bahru
Air quality now
AQI 66
22.3%
tree cover
20.1K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Ipoh
2 km around Taman Hoover
Air quality now
AQI 67
21.5%
tree cover
26.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Malacca
2 km around Taman Kota Laksamana
Air quality now
AQI 46
21.3%
tree cover
23.8K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Kota Bharu
2 km around Bandar Kota Bharu
Air quality now
AQI 53
20.1%
tree cover
29.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Kampung Baru Subang
2 km around Kampung Melayu Subang
Air quality now
AQI 37
25.3%
tree cover
14.8K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Petaling Jaya
2 km around Ss 5
Air quality now
AQI 37
15.5%
tree cover
45.1K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Bukit Rahman Putra
2 km around Bukit Rahman Putra
Air quality now
AQI 70
38.0%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Malaysia today?
5% of the 56 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 27% have Good air. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
56 measured cities
- Good15 (27%)
- Moderate38 (68%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups3 (5%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
In aggregate
Malaysia in numbers
Every figure below is read the same way over the same 2 km area per city, so they add up and compare like for like. Averaged across the 56 of 56 cities measured so far in Malaysia.
- Average air quality
- AQI 59Mean of the latest reading per city
- Average tree cover
- 38.7%25 of 56 below their target
- Trees counted
- 6.3MAcross every measured area
- More trees needed
- 504KTo bring each area to its target
Worst air quality right now
Cleanest air right now
Greenest cities in Malaysia
Least tree cover in Malaysia
Excludes barren and desert sites
Against everywhere else
How does Malaysia compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Malaysia average cleaner air than 38% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 85%.
Cleaner air than…
- Malaysia
- Beats 38%
More tree cover than…
- Malaysia
- Beats 85%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Is this the same as Malaysia's API (IPU)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Malaysia's Department of Environment (Jabatan Alam Sekitar) publishes its own Air Pollutant Index, the API or Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU), every hour for each of its monitoring stations on APIMS (apims.doe.gov.my). Both scales call 0–50 good and 51–100 moderate; above that the IPU runs 101–200 unhealthy, 201–300 very unhealthy and over 300 hazardous. The two use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the numbers for the same hour often differ. For the official IPU reading, check the nearest station on APIMS.
Malaysia's API (IPU) and the AQI, explainedDeforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Malaysia lost?
Since 2001, Malaysia has lost about 9.77 million hectares of forest (about 98,000 km²): 33% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (77%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 9.77 million haabout 98,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 33%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 7.55 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 | 276,000 ha | 57,800 ha | 334,000 ha |
| 2002 | 268,000 ha | 44,400 ha | 313,000 ha |
| 2003 | 144,000 ha | 40,700 ha | 184,000 ha |
| 2004 | 277,000 ha | 75,500 ha | 352,000 ha |
| 2005 | 311,000 ha | 64,400 ha | 376,000 ha |
| 2006 | 271,000 ha | 64,600 ha | 335,000 ha |
| 2007 | 317,000 ha | 89,400 ha | 406,000 ha |
| 2008 | 288,000 ha | 81,400 ha | 369,000 ha |
| 2009 | 518,000 ha | 109,000 ha | 627,000 ha |
| 2010 | 362,000 ha | 66,600 ha | 429,000 ha |
| 2011 | 396,000 ha | 63,800 ha | 460,000 ha |
| 2012 | 500,000 ha | 122,000 ha | 622,000 ha |
| 2013 | 274,000 ha | 57,400 ha | 331,000 ha |
| 2014 | 488,000 ha | 156,000 ha | 643,000 ha |
| 2015 | 326,000 ha | 128,000 ha | 453,000 ha |
| 2016 | 397,000 ha | 169,000 ha | 566,000 ha |
| 2017 | 339,000 ha | 145,000 ha | 484,000 ha |
| 2018 | 304,000 ha | 134,000 ha | 439,000 ha |
| 2019 | 280,000 ha | 116,000 ha | 396,000 ha |
| 2020 | 201,000 ha | 67,800 ha | 269,000 ha |
| 2021 | 212,000 ha | 65,900 ha | 278,000 ha |
| 2022 | 179,000 ha | 69,800 ha | 249,000 ha |
| 2023 | 230,000 ha | 78,600 ha | 309,000 ha |
| 2024 | 208,000 ha | 75,100 ha | 283,000 ha |
| 2025 | 185,000 ha | 78,900 ha | 264,000 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 277,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 431,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2014, when about 643,000 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Malaysia?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good74% · 7.22 million ha
- Loggingcan grow back20% · 1.91 million ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back1.9% · 189,000 ha
Also: mining and energy, towns and roads, 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.
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
Malaysia as a whole
57.7% of Malaysia 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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Frequently asked
Air quality in Malaysia: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Malaysia today?
Right now the 56 cities Airleaf measures in Malaysia average AQI 59 (moderate). The worst air is in Iskandar Puteri, at AQI 112, and the cleanest in Bintulu, at AQI 29. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 61 across 51 cities. 5% of the 56 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 27% have Good air.
Which city in Malaysia has the worst air right now?
Iskandar Puteri, at AQI 112 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) on the US EPA index. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which city in Malaysia has the cleanest air right now?
Bintulu, at AQI 29 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Malaysia has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Malaysia safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 15 cities are Good, 38 cities are Moderate, 3 cities are Unhealthy for sensitive groups. At the national average of AQI 59: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
How much forest has Malaysia lost since 2001?
About 9.77 million ha from 2001 to 2025, 33% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 7.55 million ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which city in Malaysia has the most trees?
Ijok, with 81.0% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Malaysia?
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. Malaysia's API (IPU) is a different scale, explained on this page. Tree cover is measured over the same 2 km radius in every city, so the cities compare like for like.
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