City report · Jeollanam-do, South Korea
Gwangyang Air quality today
Air quality in Gwangyang currently reads AQI 70 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 70
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 19.5
- tree cover
- 38.2%
- trees in this area
- 103K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Jungdong-ro, Gwangyang-si, Jeollanam-do, South Korea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Gwangyang · AQI 70 (Moderate)
Gwangyang's tree count comes to 102,608 trees across 10.75 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Gwangyang today: AQI 70, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 01:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · 진월면, 7 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
19.5
PM10
34.0
NO₂
30.1
O₃
20.2
SO₂
7.6
CO
882.1
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 Gwangyang's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 36 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 4.
Where Gwangyang stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Gwangyang: Healthy tree cover
38.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.75 km² of land.
Trees in this area
102,608
Target trees
102,608
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Gwangyang lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Gwangyang has lost about 568 hectares of forest (about 800 football pitches): 6.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 240 hectares (42%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 568 haabout 800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 240 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 63 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 | 13 ha | 18 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | 19 ha | 24 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | 8 ha | 9 ha |
| 2004 | 10 ha | 21 ha | 31 ha |
| 2005 | 15 ha | 13 ha | 28 ha |
| 2006 | 14 ha | 9 ha | 23 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2008 | 32 ha | 31 ha | 63 ha |
| 2009 | 19 ha | 14 ha | 32 ha |
| 2010 | 24 ha | 12 ha | 36 ha |
| 2011 | 5 ha | 6 ha | 11 ha |
| 2012 | 11 ha | 6 ha | 17 ha |
| 2013 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2014 | 3 ha | 12 ha | 15 ha |
| 2015 | 8 ha | 2 ha | 9 ha |
| 2016 | 18 ha | 21 ha | 39 ha |
| 2017 | 19 ha | 31 ha | 51 ha |
| 2018 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | 12 ha | 13 ha |
| 2020 | 4 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | 3 ha | 7 ha |
| 2022 | 15 ha | 3 ha | 18 ha |
| 2023 | 6 ha | 52 ha | 58 ha |
| 2024 | 8 ha | 21 ha | 29 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 10 ha | 15 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Gwangyang?
- Loggingcan grow back57% · 323 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good38% · 214 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good3.8% · 22 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 10,200 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 10,100 ha
- Overall change
- −83 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gwangyang stayed about the same size, at about 10,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 325 hectares, and about 408 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Gwangyang
What is the air quality (AQI) in Gwangyang right now?
The latest reading for Gwangyang shows an AQI of 70 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 01:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is 진월면, 7 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Gwangyang today?
At AQI 70 (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 Gwangyang been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Gwangyang's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 36 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Gwangyang lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Gwangyang has lost about 568 hectares of forest (about 800 football pitches): 6.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 240 hectares (42%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gwangyang stayed about the same size, at about 10,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 325 hectares, and about 408 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Gwangyang?
Gwangyang has an estimated 102,608 trees across the 10.75 km² of land measured — 38.2% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Gwangyang need?
Gwangyang has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Gwangyang's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Jungdong-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 Jungdong-ro; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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