City report · Australia
Darwin Air quality today
Air quality in Darwin currently reads AQI 28 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 28
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.0
- tree cover
- 21.3%
- trees in this area
- 38.1K
- more trees needed
- 15.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Darwin City NT 0800, Australia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Darwin · AQI 28 (Good)
Darwin's tree count comes to 38,075 trees across 7.15 km² of land, 9 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 15,552 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Darwin today: AQI 28, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 02:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Stokes Hill, 1.2 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.0
PM10
8.6
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, NTEPA - Northen Territory Environment Protection Authority
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Darwin's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 41 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 69 on Nov 5.
Where Darwin stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Darwin: Below target
21.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 7.15 km² of land.
Trees in this area
38,075
Target trees
53,627
More trees needed
15,552
CO₂ if planted / yr
342.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Darwin lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Darwin has lost about 64 hectares of forest (about 89 football pitches): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 64 haabout 89 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 58 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2003, when about 48 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 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 48 ha | under 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Darwin?
- Towns and roadscleared for good91% · 58 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back3.1% · 2 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown6.1% · 4 ha
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
- 4,030 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,850 ha
- Overall change
- −178 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Darwin shrank from about 4,030 hectares to 3,850 hectares, a net loss of about 178 hectares (−4.4%). New forest grew on about 36 hectares, but 214 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 Darwin
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Lospalos607.0 km
Timor Leste
- Tree cover
- 56%
- Air quality
- 42
- Suai703.1 km
Timor Leste
- Tree cover
- 55%
- Air quality
- 58
- Dili721.0 km
Timor Leste
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 43
- Maliana725.2 km
Timor Leste
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 53
- Likisá739.5 km
Timor Leste
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 41
- Kupang828.9 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 62
Build your own
Compare Darwin with anywhere
This place
Darwin
Use this data
Put Darwin's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Darwin
What is the air quality (AQI) in Darwin right now?
The latest reading for Darwin shows an AQI of 28 (Good), measured Nov 12, 02:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Stokes Hill, 1.2 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Darwin today?
At AQI 28 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Darwin been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Darwin's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 41 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 69 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Darwin lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Darwin has lost about 64 hectares of forest (about 89 football pitches): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Darwin shrank from about 4,030 hectares to 3,850 hectares, a net loss of about 178 hectares (−4.4%). New forest grew on about 36 hectares, but 214 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Darwin?
Darwin has an estimated 38,075 trees across the 7.15 km² of land measured — 21.3% tree cover, 9 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Darwin need?
Darwin needs roughly 15,552 more trees to close a 9-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 342.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Darwin's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Darwin City NT 0800, 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 Darwin City NT 0800; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address