City report · KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Durban Air quality today
Air quality in Durban currently reads AQI 80 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 80
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 24.8
- tree cover
- 8.0%
- trees in this area
- 15.1K
- more trees needed
- 41.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Durban Central, Durban, 4001, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 9, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Durban · AQI 80 (Moderate)
Durban's tree count comes to 15,080 trees across 7.54 km² of land, 22 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 41,469 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Durban today: AQI 80, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · City Hall - Durban-NAQI, 200 m away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
24.8
PM10
60.2
NO₂
17.8
O₃
43.2
SO₂
8.5
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · South Africa, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS)
- 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 Durban's daily AQI at 56 on average, from 50 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 75 on Nov 5.
Where Durban stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Durban: Critically low
8.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 7.54 km² of land.
Trees in this area
15,080
Target trees
56,549
More trees needed
41,469
CO₂ if planted / yr
912.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Durban lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Durban has lost about 147 hectares of forest (about 210 football pitches): 5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 147 haabout 210 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 143 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2006, when about 24 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 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2005 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2006 | 24 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2007 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2009 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2015 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2016 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2017 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2018 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Durban?
- Towns and roadscleared for good94% · 139 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good1.7% · 3 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.2% · 2 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
- 2,800 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,740 ha
- Overall change
- −59 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Durban shrank from about 2,800 hectares to 2,740 hectares, a net loss of about 59 hectares (−2.1%). New forest grew on about 41 hectares, but 100 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 Durban
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Pinetown14.4 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 61%
- Air quality
- 80
- Ntuzuma15.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 80
- Mpumalanga38.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 129
- KwaDukuza64.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 31
- Pietermaritzburg67.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 69
- Richards Bay154.4 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 17
Also compared:Durban vs PretoriaDurban vs JohannesburgDurban vs Cape TownDurban vs Gqeberha
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Frequently asked
Questions about Durban
What is the air quality (AQI) in Durban right now?
The latest reading for Durban shows an AQI of 80 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 18:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is City Hall - Durban-NAQI, 200 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Durban today?
At AQI 80 (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 Durban been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Durban's daily AQI at 56 on average, from 50 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 75 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 Durban lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Durban has lost about 147 hectares of forest (about 210 football pitches): 5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Durban shrank from about 2,800 hectares to 2,740 hectares, a net loss of about 59 hectares (−2.1%). New forest grew on about 41 hectares, but 100 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Durban?
Durban has an estimated 15,080 trees across the 7.54 km² of land measured — 8.0% tree cover, 22 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Durban need?
Durban needs roughly 41,469 more trees to close a 22-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 912.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Durban's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Durban Central, 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 Durban Central; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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