City report · Tamil Nadu, India
Cuddalore Air quality today
Air quality in Cuddalore currently reads AQI 165 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Air quality right now
AQI 165
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 76.0
- tree cover
- 27.8%
- trees in this area
- 84.5K
- more trees needed
- 37.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Manjakuppam, Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu 607001, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 3, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cuddalore · AQI 165 (Unhealthy)
Cuddalore's tree count comes to 84,454 trees across 12.16 km² of land, 12 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 37,063 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cuddalore today: AQI 165, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 20:45 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Jawahar Nagar, Puducherry - PPCC, 19.8 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
76.0
PM10
108.5
NO₂
21.6
O₃
41.7
SO₂
5.5
CO
1.0
Data: OpenAQ · CPCB, Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India (GODL-India)
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it
- Windows
- Keep them closed
- Mask
- Wear an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cuddalore's daily AQI at 79 on average, from 40 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 133 on Nov 10.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Cuddalore stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cuddalore: Below target
27.8% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.16 km² of land.
Trees in this area
84,454
Target trees
121,517
More trees needed
37,063
CO₂ if planted / yr
815.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cuddalore lost?
There was almost no forest around Cuddalore in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from April 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 1,520 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,780 ha
- Overall change
- +267 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cuddalore grew from about 1,520 hectares to 1,780 hectares, a net gain of about 267 hectares (+18%). New forest grew on about 297 hectares, while 30 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 Cuddalore
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Puducherry20.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 165
- Neyveli33.4 km
India
- Tree cover
- 70%
- Air quality
- 155
- Kallakurichi88.0 km
India
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 163
- Tiruvannamalai91.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 159
- Kumbakonam97.3 km
India
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 161
- Nagapattinam110.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 88
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Frequently asked
Questions about Cuddalore
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cuddalore right now?
The latest reading for Cuddalore shows an AQI of 165 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 20:45 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Jawahar Nagar, Puducherry - PPCC, 19.8 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Cuddalore today?
At AQI 165 (Unhealthy): everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it. Windows: keep them closed. Masks: wear an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Cuddalore been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cuddalore's daily AQI at 79 on average, from 40 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 133 on Nov 10. On 3 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Cuddalore's AQI the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
How much forest has the area around Cuddalore lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Cuddalore in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cuddalore grew from about 1,520 hectares to 1,780 hectares, a net gain of about 267 hectares (+18%). New forest grew on about 297 hectares, while 30 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Cuddalore?
Cuddalore has an estimated 84,454 trees across the 12.16 km² of land measured — 27.8% tree cover, 12 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cuddalore need?
Cuddalore needs roughly 37,063 more trees to close a 12-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 815.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Cuddalore's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Manjakuppam, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. 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 Manjakuppam; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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