City report · Guangdong, China
Dongguan Air quality today
Air quality in Dongguan currently reads AQI 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 117
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 41.8
- tree cover
- 31.0%
- trees in this area
- 97.4K
- more trees needed
- 12.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Dongguan · AQI 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Dongguan's tree count comes to 97,389 trees across 12.57 km², 4 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 12,566 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Dongguan today: AQI 117, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 22:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · 南城元美, (东莞市南城元美), 300 m away · median of 6 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
41.8
PM10
73.2
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Guangdong Environmental Protection public network (广东环境保护公众网)
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Dongguan's daily AQI at 79 on average, from 49 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 156 on Nov 5.
Where Dongguan stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Dongguan: Below target
31.0% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
97,389
Target trees
109,955
More trees needed
12,566
CO₂ if planted / yr
276.5 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Dongguan lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Dongguan has lost about 174 hectares of forest (about 240 football pitches): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (64%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2018: satellite photo from December 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 174 haabout 240 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 13%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 111 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2021, when about 26 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 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2004 | 17 ha | 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2005 | 10 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2006 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2007 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2008 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | 2 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 | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | 5 ha | 4 ha | 9 ha |
| 2018 | 7 ha | 17 ha | 23 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2021 | 7 ha | 19 ha | 26 ha |
| 2022 | 3 ha | 5 ha | 8 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | 4 ha | 6 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Dongguan?
- Towns and roadscleared for good61% · 106 ha
- Loggingcan grow back34% · 59 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.6% · 5 ha
Also: 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
- 3,930 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,440 ha
- Overall change
- +507 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Dongguan grew from about 3,930 hectares to 4,440 hectares, a net gain of about 507 hectares (+13%). New forest grew on about 739 hectares, while 232 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Dongguan
What is the air quality (AQI) in Dongguan right now?
The latest reading for Dongguan shows an AQI of 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 22:00 local time by 6 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is 南城元美, (东莞市南城元美), 300 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Dongguan today?
At AQI 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Dongguan been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Dongguan's daily AQI at 79 on average, from 49 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 156 on Nov 5. On 2 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Dongguan lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Dongguan has lost about 174 hectares of forest (about 240 football pitches): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (64%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Dongguan grew from about 3,930 hectares to 4,440 hectares, a net gain of about 507 hectares (+13%). New forest grew on about 739 hectares, while 232 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Dongguan?
Dongguan has an estimated 97,389 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 31.0% tree cover, 4 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Dongguan need?
Dongguan needs roughly 12,566 more trees to close a 4-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 276.5 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Dongguan's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Dongguan, 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 Dongguan; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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