Nouméa
2 km around Quartier Latin
Air quality now
AQI 28
27.3%
tree cover
6.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Oceania · air quality report · 1 city
New Caledonia air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Airleaf measures 1 city in New Caledonia. Nouméa reads AQI 28 right now.
- cities measured
- 1
- national forest cover
- 48.1%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
New Caledonia
Air quality in Nouméa right now
Good
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has New Caledonia lost?
Since 2001, New Caledonia has lost about 31,500 hectares of forest (about 44,000 football pitches): 2.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 6,130 hectares (19%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 31,500 haabout 44,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 6,130 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 | 302 ha | 361 ha | 663 ha |
| 2002 | 306 ha | 305 ha | 611 ha |
| 2003 | 161 ha | 712 ha | 873 ha |
| 2004 | 403 ha | 1,090 ha | 1,500 ha |
| 2005 | 301 ha | 1,120 ha | 1,420 ha |
| 2006 | 248 ha | 1,860 ha | 2,110 ha |
| 2007 | 350 ha | 618 ha | 968 ha |
| 2008 | 195 ha | 315 ha | 510 ha |
| 2009 | 369 ha | 594 ha | 963 ha |
| 2010 | 211 ha | 323 ha | 534 ha |
| 2011 | 246 ha | 446 ha | 692 ha |
| 2012 | 246 ha | 576 ha | 822 ha |
| 2013 | 695 ha | 1,540 ha | 2,230 ha |
| 2014 | 454 ha | 1,530 ha | 1,980 ha |
| 2015 | 243 ha | 232 ha | 475 ha |
| 2016 | 172 ha | 1,100 ha | 1,270 ha |
| 2017 | 189 ha | 931 ha | 1,120 ha |
| 2018 | 236 ha | 2,770 ha | 3,010 ha |
| 2019 | 159 ha | 640 ha | 799 ha |
| 2020 | 130 ha | 3,910 ha | 4,040 ha |
| 2021 | 88 ha | 522 ha | 610 ha |
| 2022 | 32 ha | 317 ha | 349 ha |
| 2023 | 91 ha | 489 ha | 580 ha |
| 2024 | 213 ha | 1,480 ha | 1,700 ha |
| 2025 | 86 ha | 1,610 ha | 1,700 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 987 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 2,050 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2020, when about 4,040 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
What is causing deforestation in New Caledonia?
- Wildfirescan grow back61% · 19,200 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good11% · 3,400 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back8.9% · 2,800 ha
Also: mining and energy, logging, towns and roads, shifting farming, 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
New Caledonia as a whole
48.1% of New Caledonia 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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New Caledonia
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in New Caledonia
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 New Caledonia: your questions answered
What is the air quality in New Caledonia today?
Airleaf measures 1 city in New Caledonia. Nouméa reads AQI 28 right now.
How much forest has New Caledonia lost since 2001?
About 31,500 ha from 2001 to 2025, 2% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 6,130 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in New Caledonia?
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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