City report · Gauteng, South Africa
Johannesburg Air quality today
Air quality in Johannesburg currently reads AQI 69 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 69
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 18.5
- tree cover
- 4.2%
- trees in this area
- 13.2K
- more trees needed
- 81.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Johannesburg, 2001, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Johannesburg · AQI 69 (Moderate)
Johannesburg's tree count comes to 13,195 trees across 12.57 km², 26 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 81,053 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Johannesburg today: AQI 69, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 20:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Little John Park , 10.6 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
18.5
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
2.5
SO₂
12.3
CO
921.1
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, South Africa, Shift iT, Robin Kohl, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS)
- 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 Johannesburg's daily AQI at 72 on average, from 54 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 160 on Nov 5.
Where Johannesburg stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Johannesburg: Critically low
4.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
13,195
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
81,053
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,783 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Johannesburg lost?
There was very little forest around Johannesburg in 2000, about 83 hectares, and about 9 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
The worst year was 2019, when about 2 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 | 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 | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 | 1 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 Johannesburg?
- Towns and roadscleared for good76% · 7 ha
- Loggingcan grow back14% · 1 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good5.7% · under 1 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
- 5,350 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,480 ha
- Overall change
- +130 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Johannesburg grew from about 5,350 hectares to 5,480 hectares, a net gain of about 130 hectares (+2.4%). New forest grew on about 191 hectares, while 61 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 Johannesburg
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Germiston12.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 69
- Randburg12.8 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 69
- Roodepoort17.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 66
- Tokoza19.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 105
- Soweto19.8 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 66
- Benoni27.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 98
Also compared:Johannesburg vs PretoriaJohannesburg vs Cape TownJohannesburg vs DurbanJohannesburg vs Gqeberha
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Frequently asked
Questions about Johannesburg
What is the air quality (AQI) in Johannesburg right now?
The latest reading for Johannesburg shows an AQI of 69 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 20:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Little John Park , 10.6 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Johannesburg 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 Johannesburg been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Johannesburg's daily AQI at 72 on average, from 54 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 160 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Johannesburg lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Johannesburg in 2000, about 83 hectares, and about 9 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Johannesburg grew from about 5,350 hectares to 5,480 hectares, a net gain of about 130 hectares (+2.4%). New forest grew on about 191 hectares, while 61 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Johannesburg?
Johannesburg has an estimated 13,195 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 4.2% tree cover, 26 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Johannesburg need?
Johannesburg needs roughly 81,053 more trees to close a 26-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,783 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Johannesburg's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Johannesburg, 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 Johannesburg; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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