City report · Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
Gyeongju Air quality today
Air quality in Gyeongju 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
- 12.6%
- trees in this area
- 39.3K
- more trees needed
- 54.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Jungang-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Gyeongju · AQI 60 (Moderate)
Gyeongju's tree count comes to 39,347 trees across 12.49 km² of land, 17 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 54,336 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Gyeongju today: AQI 60, 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 · 성건동, 1 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
14.0
PM10
21.0
NO₂
—
O₃
32.5
SO₂
7.9
CO
349.4
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 Gyeongju's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 45 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 78 on Nov 11.
Where Gyeongju stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Gyeongju: Critically low
12.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.49 km² of land.
Trees in this area
39,347
Target trees
93,683
More trees needed
54,336
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,195 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Gyeongju lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Gyeongju has lost about 745 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): 4.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 745 haabout 1,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 505 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 199 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2002 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2003 | 7 ha | 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2004 | 42 ha | 2 ha | 43 ha |
| 2005 | 31 ha | 6 ha | 37 ha |
| 2006 | 17 ha | 4 ha | 21 ha |
| 2007 | 18 ha | 32 ha | 49 ha |
| 2008 | 34 ha | 3 ha | 37 ha |
| 2009 | 51 ha | 148 ha | 199 ha |
| 2010 | 28 ha | 7 ha | 35 ha |
| 2011 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2012 | 11 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2014 | 9 ha | 4 ha | 13 ha |
| 2015 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2016 | 36 ha | 7 ha | 43 ha |
| 2017 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2018 | 54 ha | under 1 ha | 54 ha |
| 2019 | 39 ha | 8 ha | 48 ha |
| 2020 | 16 ha | 4 ha | 20 ha |
| 2021 | 25 ha | under 1 ha | 25 ha |
| 2022 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2023 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2024 | 9 ha | 6 ha | 16 ha |
| 2025 | 19 ha | 2 ha | 20 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Gyeongju?
- Towns and roadscleared for good54% · 401 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back25% · 185 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good11% · 79 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
- 16,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 16,700 ha
- Overall change
- −192 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gyeongju stayed about the same size, at about 16,700 hectares: new forest grew on about 345 hectares, and about 536 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 Gyeongju
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Pohang24.9 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 71
- Ulsan35.3 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 66
- Gyeongsan-si42.8 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 73
- Daegu56.0 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 73
- Yangsan58.0 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 64
- Gijang66.6 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 62%
- Air quality
- 65
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Frequently asked
Questions about Gyeongju
What is the air quality (AQI) in Gyeongju right now?
The latest reading for Gyeongju shows an AQI of 60 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 01:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is 성건동, 1 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Gyeongju 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 Gyeongju been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Gyeongju's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 45 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 78 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 Gyeongju lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Gyeongju has lost about 745 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): 4.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gyeongju stayed about the same size, at about 16,700 hectares: new forest grew on about 345 hectares, and about 536 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Gyeongju?
Gyeongju has an estimated 39,347 trees across the 12.49 km² of land measured — 12.6% tree cover, 17 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Gyeongju need?
Gyeongju needs roughly 54,336 more trees to close a 17-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,195 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Gyeongju's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Jungang-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 Jungang-ro; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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