City report · India
Gangtok Air quality today
Air quality in Gangtok currently reads AQI 51 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 51
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.9
- tree cover
- 82.7%
- trees in this area
- 260K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Vishal Gaon, Gangtok, Sikkim, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Gangtok · AQI 51 (Moderate)
Gangtok's tree count comes to 259,810 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 Gangtok today: AQI 51, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 19:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 6 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 6 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Jalpaiguri Division and Phuentsholing
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.9
PM10
16.9
NO₂
23.4
O₃
67.0
SO₂
3.1
CO
267.0
- 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 Gangtok's daily AQI at 57 on average, from 31 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 102 on Nov 4.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Gangtok stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Gangtok: Healthy tree cover
82.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
259,810
Target trees
259,810
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Gangtok lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Gangtok has lost about 311 hectares of forest (about 440 football pitches): 1.4% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was storms, floods and other natural causes (47%), after which forest can grow back. About 128 hectares (41%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 311 haabout 440 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 128 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2024, when about 60 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 | 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2009 | 13 ha | 5 ha | 18 ha |
| 2010 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2011 | 5 ha | 8 ha | 13 ha |
| 2012 | 6 ha | 4 ha | 10 ha |
| 2013 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 6 ha | 4 ha | 10 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 10 ha |
| 2020 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2022 | 4 ha | 48 ha | 53 ha |
| 2023 | 21 ha | 33 ha | 54 ha |
| 2024 | 18 ha | 42 ha | 60 ha |
| 2025 | 9 ha | 16 ha | 25 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Gangtok?
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back47% · 146 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good33% · 104 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good6.9% · 22 ha
Also: logging, farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 29,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 30,000 ha
- Overall change
- +261 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gangtok stayed about the same size, at about 30,000 hectares: new forest grew on about 368 hectares, and about 108 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 Gangtok
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Dārjiling47.2 km
India
- Tree cover
- 88%
- Air quality
- 58
- Siliguri70.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 70
- Jalpāiguri90.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 133
- Jaigaon92.4 km
India
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 70
- Phuntsholing93.2 km
Bhutan
- Tree cover
- 61%
- Air quality
- 70
- Thimphu102.8 km
Bhutan
- Tree cover
- 48%
- Air quality
- 4
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Frequently asked
Questions about Gangtok
What is the air quality (AQI) in Gangtok right now?
The latest reading for Gangtok shows an AQI of 51 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 19:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 6 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 Gangtok today?
At AQI 51 (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 Gangtok been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Gangtok's daily AQI at 57 on average, from 31 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 102 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Gangtok's AQI the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
How much forest has the area around Gangtok lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Gangtok has lost about 311 hectares of forest (about 440 football pitches): 1.4% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was storms, floods and other natural causes (47%), after which forest can grow back. About 128 hectares (41%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gangtok stayed about the same size, at about 30,000 hectares: new forest grew on about 368 hectares, and about 108 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Gangtok?
Gangtok has an estimated 259,810 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 82.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Gangtok need?
Gangtok has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Gangtok'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 Vishal Gaon; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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