City report · Solomon Islands
Honiara Air quality today
Air quality in Honiara currently reads AQI 30 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 30
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.4
- tree cover
- 57.3%
- trees in this area
- 115K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Honiara, Solomon Islands (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 27, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Honiara · AQI 30 (Good)
Honiara's tree count comes to 115,028 trees across 8.03 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Honiara today: AQI 30, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 04:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Vavaya Ridge, 700 m away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.4
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, UNICEF / UNSW
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Honiara's daily AQI at 9 on average, from 4 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 29 on Nov 10.
Where Honiara stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Honiara: Healthy tree cover
57.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 8.03 km² of land.
Trees in this area
115,028
Target trees
115,028
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Honiara lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Honiara has lost about 3,100 hectares of forest (about 4,300 football pitches): 20% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was logging (45%), after which forest can grow back. About 492 hectares (16%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from October 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 3,100 haabout 4,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 20%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 492 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 164 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 224 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2018, when about 449 hectares of forest were lost.
Honiara's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3 ha | 11 ha | 14 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | 16 ha | 20 ha |
| 2003 | 15 ha | 11 ha | 26 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | 11 ha | 17 ha |
| 2005 | 25 ha | 58 ha | 82 ha |
| 2006 | 16 ha | 59 ha | 75 ha |
| 2007 | 30 ha | 35 ha | 65 ha |
| 2008 | 15 ha | 24 ha | 39 ha |
| 2009 | 22 ha | 17 ha | 39 ha |
| 2010 | 20 ha | 33 ha | 53 ha |
| 2011 | 9 ha | 34 ha | 43 ha |
| 2012 | 15 ha | 26 ha | 41 ha |
| 2013 | 57 ha | 90 ha | 147 ha |
| 2014 | 69 ha | 186 ha | 254 ha |
| 2015 | 19 ha | 229 ha | 248 ha |
| 2016 | 21 ha | 222 ha | 243 ha |
| 2017 | 4 ha | 114 ha | 118 ha |
| 2018 | 7 ha | 443 ha | 449 ha |
| 2019 | 12 ha | 185 ha | 197 ha |
| 2020 | 36 ha | 76 ha | 112 ha |
| 2021 | 27 ha | 217 ha | 244 ha |
| 2022 | 16 ha | 192 ha | 208 ha |
| 2023 | 6 ha | 67 ha | 73 ha |
| 2024 | 31 ha | 152 ha | 183 ha |
| 2025 | 7 ha | 103 ha | 110 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Honiara?
- Loggingcan grow back45% · 1,380 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back38% · 1,180 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good8.5% · 264 ha
Also: towns and roads, 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
- 14,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 13,100 ha
- Overall change
- −1,130 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Honiara shrank from about 14,300 hectares to 13,100 hectares, a net loss of about 1,130 hectares (−7.9%). New forest grew on about 45 hectares, but 1,180 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 Honiara
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
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- Port-Vila1291.5 km
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- Air quality
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- Port Moresby1403.8 km
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- Air quality
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- Lae1457.4 km
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- Air quality
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Frequently asked
Questions about Honiara
What is the air quality (AQI) in Honiara right now?
The latest reading for Honiara shows an AQI of 30 (Good), measured Nov 12, 04:00 local time by the Vavaya Ridge ground monitoring station, 700 m away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Honiara today?
At AQI 30 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Honiara been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Honiara's daily AQI at 9 on average, from 4 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 29 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Honiara lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Honiara has lost about 3,100 hectares of forest (about 4,300 football pitches): 20% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was logging (45%), after which forest can grow back. About 492 hectares (16%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 164 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 224 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Honiara shrank from about 14,300 hectares to 13,100 hectares, a net loss of about 1,130 hectares (−7.9%). New forest grew on about 45 hectares, but 1,180 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Honiara?
Honiara has an estimated 115,028 trees across the 8.03 km² of land measured — 57.3% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Honiara need?
Honiara has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Honiara's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Honiara, 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 Honiara; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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