City report · Guangdong, China
Guangzhou Air quality today
Air quality in Guangzhou currently reads AQI 111 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 111
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 39.4
- tree cover
- 17.2%
- trees in this area
- 49.5K
- more trees needed
- 51.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around China, 广东省广州市荔湾区上下九地区 (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Guangzhou · AQI 111 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Guangzhou's tree count comes to 49,496 trees across 11.51 km² of land, 18 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 51,223 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Guangzhou today: AQI 111, 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 · shì wǔ zhōng, Guangzhou (广州市五中), 1.7 km away · median of 6 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
39.4
PM10
65.1
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 Guangzhou's daily AQI at 94 on average, from 57 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 176 on Nov 6.
Where Guangzhou stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Guangzhou: Critically low
17.2% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.51 km² of land.
Trees in this area
49,496
Target trees
100,719
More trees needed
51,223
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,127 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Guangzhou lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Guangzhou has lost about 30 hectares of forest (about 42 football pitches): 2.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2018: satellite photo from November 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 30 haabout 42 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 26 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2021, when about 11 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2021 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Guangzhou?
- Towns and roadscleared for good87% · 26 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown14% · 4 ha
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
- 2,970 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,480 ha
- Overall change
- +511 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Guangzhou grew from about 2,970 hectares to 3,480 hectares, a net gain of about 511 hectares (+17%). New forest grew on about 600 hectares, while 90 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 Guangzhou
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Foshan15.7 km
China
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 107
- Dasha19.6 km
China
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 95
- Shiqiao21.9 km
China
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 87
- Daliang30.7 km
China
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 102
- Sanshui36.9 km
China
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 94
- Nantou44.1 km
China
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 104
Also compared:Guangzhou vs BeijingGuangzhou vs ShanghaiGuangzhou vs ChongqingGuangzhou vs Chengdu
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Frequently asked
Questions about Guangzhou
What is the air quality (AQI) in Guangzhou right now?
The latest reading for Guangzhou shows an AQI of 111 (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 shì wǔ zhōng, Guangzhou (广州市五中), 1.7 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Guangzhou today?
At AQI 111 (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 Guangzhou been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Guangzhou's daily AQI at 94 on average, from 57 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 176 on Nov 6. On 4 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Guangzhou lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Guangzhou has lost about 30 hectares of forest (about 42 football pitches): 2.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Guangzhou grew from about 2,970 hectares to 3,480 hectares, a net gain of about 511 hectares (+17%). New forest grew on about 600 hectares, while 90 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Guangzhou?
Guangzhou has an estimated 49,496 trees across the 11.51 km² of land measured — 17.2% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Guangzhou need?
Guangzhou needs roughly 51,223 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 1,127 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Guangzhou's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near China, 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 China; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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