City report · West Bengal, India
Dārjiling Air quality today
Air quality in Dārjiling currently reads AQI 58 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 58
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 12.0
- tree cover
- 88.2%
- trees in this area
- 277K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Tungsung Basti, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Dārjiling · AQI 58 (Moderate)
Dārjiling's tree count comes to 277,088 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Dārjiling today: AQI 58, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 03:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 6 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 6 station cities within 185 km, e.g. Kishanganj and Jalpaiguri Division
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
12.0
PM10
19.9
NO₂
14.4
O₃
62.0
SO₂
2.5
CO
251.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Dārjiling's daily AQI at 78 on average, from 55 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 134 on Nov 7.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Dārjiling stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Dārjiling: Healthy tree cover
88.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
277,088
Target trees
277,088
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Dārjiling lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Dārjiling has lost about 72 hectares of forest (about 100 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (62%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 72 haabout 100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 45 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 10 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | 4 ha | 10 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2010 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | 5 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2013 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Dārjiling?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good40% · 29 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good22% · 16 ha
- Loggingcan grow back7.9% · 6 ha
Also: shifting farming, 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.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 29,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 29,900 ha
- Overall change
- +616 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Dārjiling grew from about 29,300 hectares to 29,900 hectares, a net gain of about 616 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 644 hectares, while 28 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 Dārjiling
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Siliguri39.4 km
India
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 70
- Gangtok47.2 km
India
- Tree cover
- 83%
- Air quality
- 51
- Jalpāiguri73.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 133
- Dharān100.8 km
Nepal
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 81
- Kishanganj108.1 km
India
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 152
- Jaigaon111.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 70
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Frequently asked
Questions about Dārjiling
What is the air quality (AQI) in Dārjiling right now?
The latest reading for Dārjiling shows an AQI of 58 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 03:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 6 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Dārjiling today?
At AQI 58 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Dārjiling been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Dārjiling's daily AQI at 78 on average, from 55 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 134 on Nov 7. On 2 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Dārjiling'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 Dārjiling lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Dārjiling has lost about 72 hectares of forest (about 100 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (62%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Dārjiling grew from about 29,300 hectares to 29,900 hectares, a net gain of about 616 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 644 hectares, while 28 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Dārjiling?
Dārjiling has an estimated 277,088 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 88.2% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Dārjiling need?
Dārjiling has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Dārjiling's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Tungsung Basti; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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