City report · Nepal
Dharān Air quality today
Air quality in Dharān currently reads AQI 62 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 62
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 15.4
- tree cover
- 42.8%
- trees in this area
- 134K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Dharan, Koshi Province, Nepal (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Dharān · AQI 62 (Moderate)
Dharān's tree count comes to 134,460 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 Dharān today: AQI 62, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 12:45 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 10 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 10 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Biratnagar and Kishanganj
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
15.4
PM10
28.3
NO₂
0.7
O₃
135.0
SO₂
5.4
CO
338.0
- 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 Dharān's daily AQI at 113 on average, from 81 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 177 on Nov 6.
Where Dharān stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Dharān: Healthy tree cover
42.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
134,460
Target trees
134,460
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Dharān lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Dharān has lost about 61 hectares of forest (about 85 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (35%). About 29 hectares (48%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 61 haabout 85 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 29 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2017, when about 15 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 | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | 4 ha | 11 ha | 15 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Dharān?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good35% · 21 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back23% · 14 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good13% · 8 ha
Also: logging, wildfires, 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
- 24,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 24,900 ha
- Overall change
- +505 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Dharān grew from about 24,400 hectares to 24,900 hectares, a net gain of about 505 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 607 hectares, while 101 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 Dharān
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Lahān79.8 km
Nepal
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 67
- Dārjiling100.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 88%
- Air quality
- 61
- Kishanganj103.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 172
- Siliguri114.6 km
India
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 82
- Purnia116.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 69
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Frequently asked
Questions about Dharān
What is the air quality (AQI) in Dharān right now?
The latest reading for Dharān shows an AQI of 62 (Moderate), observed Nov 12, 12:45 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 10 ground-station cities within 225 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 Dharān today?
At AQI 62 (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 Dharān been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Dharān's daily AQI at 113 on average, from 81 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 177 on Nov 6. On 4 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Dharān lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Dharān has lost about 61 hectares of forest (about 85 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (35%). About 29 hectares (48%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Dharān grew from about 24,400 hectares to 24,900 hectares, a net gain of about 505 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 607 hectares, while 101 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Dharān?
Dharān has an estimated 134,460 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 42.8% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Dharān need?
Dharān has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Dharān'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 Dharan; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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