City report · Gwangju, South Korea
Gwangju Air quality today
Air quality in Gwangju currently reads AQI 69 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 69
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 19.0
- tree cover
- 6.7%
- trees in this area
- 21.0K
- more trees needed
- 73.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Guseong-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju, South Korea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Gwangju · AQI 69 (Moderate)
Gwangju's tree count comes to 21,028 trees across 12.56 km² of land, 23 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 73,126 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Gwangju today: AQI 69, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 00:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · 서석동, 1.2 km away · median of 10 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
19.0
PM10
32.5
NO₂
45.0
O₃
23.8
SO₂
7.7
CO
670.2
Data: OpenAQ · Korea Air Ministry of Environment, Korea Environment Corporation · AirKorea
- 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 Gwangju's daily AQI at 54 on average, from 40 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 6.
Where Gwangju stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Gwangju: Critically low
6.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
21,028
Target trees
94,154
More trees needed
73,126
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,609 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Gwangju lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Gwangju has lost about 164 hectares of forest (about 230 football pitches): 1.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (64%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 164 haabout 230 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 106 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 19 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 | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | 8 ha | 8 ha | 16 ha |
| 2005 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2006 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 17 ha | 2 ha | 19 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2011 | 6 ha | 8 ha | 13 ha |
| 2012 | 5 ha | 4 ha | 9 ha |
| 2013 | 9 ha | 6 ha | 15 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 14 ha | 14 ha |
| 2017 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2025 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Gwangju?
- Towns and roadscleared for good54% · 88 ha
- Loggingcan grow back31% · 50 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good11% · 18 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
- 14,000 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 13,900 ha
- Overall change
- −65 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gwangju stayed about the same size, at about 13,900 hectares: new forest grew on about 85 hectares, and about 150 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 Gwangju
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Jeongeup49.5 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 72
- Suncheon56.8 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 46%
- Air quality
- 69
- Mokpo61.0 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 99
- Gwangyang74.9 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 86
- Jeonju77.1 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 79
- Yeosu80.9 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 48%
- Air quality
- 53
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Frequently asked
Questions about Gwangju
What is the air quality (AQI) in Gwangju right now?
The latest reading for Gwangju shows an AQI of 69 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by 10 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is 서석동, 1.2 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Gwangju today?
At AQI 69 (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 Gwangju been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Gwangju's daily AQI at 54 on average, from 40 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Gwangju lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Gwangju has lost about 164 hectares of forest (about 230 football pitches): 1.4% 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 Gwangju stayed about the same size, at about 13,900 hectares: new forest grew on about 85 hectares, and about 150 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Gwangju?
Gwangju has an estimated 21,028 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 6.7% tree cover, 23 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Gwangju need?
Gwangju needs roughly 73,126 more trees to close a 23-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,609 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Gwangju's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Guseong-ro, 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 Guseong-ro; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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