City report · Sri Lanka
Jaffna Air quality today
Air quality in Jaffna currently reads AQI 34 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 34
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.7
- tree cover
- 42.0%
- trees in this area
- 79.4K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Chundikuli, Jaffna, Sri Lanka (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 1, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Jaffna · AQI 34 (Good)
Jaffna's tree count comes to 79,432 trees across 7.57 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Jaffna today: AQI 34, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 18:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.7
PM10
6.8
NO₂
9.9
O₃
59.0
SO₂
0.5
CO
784.0
- 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 Jaffna's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 16 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 10.
Where Jaffna stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Jaffna: Healthy tree cover
42.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 7.57 km² of land.
Trees in this area
79,432
Target trees
79,432
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Jaffna lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Jaffna has lost about 5 hectares of forest (about 8 football pitches): 1.9% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was towns and roads (19%). About 1 hectare (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 5 haabout 8 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2004, when about 1 hectare 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 | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Jaffna?
- Towns and roadscleared for good19% · 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown80% · 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
- 6,520 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,620 ha
- Overall change
- +102 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Jaffna stayed about the same size, at about 6,620 hectares: new forest grew on about 116 hectares, and about 14 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 Jaffna
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Nagapattinam123.1 km
India
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 63
- Kāraikkudi142.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 86
- Pudukkottai152.1 km
India
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 111
- Thanjavur156.4 km
India
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 107
- Kumbakonam158.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 107
Also compared:Jaffna vs ColomboJaffna vs NegomboJaffna vs Kandy
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Frequently asked
Questions about Jaffna
What is the air quality (AQI) in Jaffna right now?
The latest reading for Jaffna shows an AQI of 34 (Good), observed Nov 10, 18:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Jaffna today?
At AQI 34 (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 Jaffna been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Jaffna's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 16 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 59 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 Jaffna lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Jaffna has lost about 5 hectares of forest (about 8 football pitches): 1.9% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was towns and roads (19%). About 1 hectare (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Jaffna stayed about the same size, at about 6,620 hectares: new forest grew on about 116 hectares, and about 14 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Jaffna?
Jaffna has an estimated 79,432 trees across the 7.57 km² of land measured — 42.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Jaffna need?
Jaffna has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Jaffna's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Chundikuli; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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