City report · Mpumalanga, South Africa
Ermelo Air quality today
Air quality in Ermelo currently reads AQI 60 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 60
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 14.0
- tree cover
- 15.6%
- trees in this area
- 48.9K
- more trees needed
- 45.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Ermelo, 2350, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Ermelo · AQI 60 (Moderate)
Ermelo's tree count comes to 48,862 trees across 12.53 km² of land, 14 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 45,103 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Ermelo today: AQI 60, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Ermelo-NAQI, 4.7 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
14.0
PM10
29.7
NO₂
—
O₃
83.0
SO₂
2.1
CO
273.8
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 Ermelo's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 12 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 116 on Nov 11.
Where Ermelo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Ermelo: Critically low
15.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.53 km² of land.
Trees in this area
48,862
Target trees
93,965
More trees needed
45,103
CO₂ if planted / yr
992.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Ermelo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Ermelo has lost about 74 hectares of forest (about 100 football pitches): 62% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (81%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2018: satellite photo from August 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 74 haabout 100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 62%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 60 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 38 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 | 36 ha | 2 ha | 38 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2011 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 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 Ermelo?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good65% · 48 ha
- Loggingcan grow back13% · 10 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good13% · 9 ha
Also: towns and roads, 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
- 323 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 314 ha
- Overall change
- −9 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Ermelo stayed about the same size, at about 314 hectares: new forest grew on about 46 hectares, and about 55 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 Ermelo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Standerton86.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 67
- eMbalenhle91.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 1%
- Air quality
- 58
- Middelburg98.9 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 55
- Emalahleni105.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 88
- Mbabane117.0 km
Eswatini
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 76
- Newcastle136.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 47
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Frequently asked
Questions about Ermelo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Ermelo right now?
The latest reading for Ermelo shows an AQI of 60 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by the Ermelo-NAQI ground monitoring station, 4.7 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Ermelo today?
At AQI 60 (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 Ermelo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Ermelo's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 12 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 116 on Nov 11. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Ermelo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Ermelo has lost about 74 hectares of forest (about 100 football pitches): 62% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (81%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Ermelo stayed about the same size, at about 314 hectares: new forest grew on about 46 hectares, and about 55 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Ermelo?
Ermelo has an estimated 48,862 trees across the 12.53 km² of land measured — 15.6% tree cover, 14 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Ermelo need?
Ermelo needs roughly 45,103 more trees to close a 14-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 992.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Ermelo's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Ermelo, 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 Ermelo; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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