City report · Tamil Nadu, India
Kāraikkudi Air quality today
Air quality in Kāraikkudi currently reads AQI 139 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 139
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 51.0
- tree cover
- 44.5%
- trees in this area
- 140K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kallukatti, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu 630001, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 1, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kāraikkudi · AQI 139 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Kāraikkudi's tree count comes to 139,801 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kāraikkudi today: AQI 139, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 02:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Cuddalore and Puducherry
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
51.0
PM10
32.8
NO₂
10.2
O₃
49.0
SO₂
7.0
CO
353.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kāraikkudi's daily AQI at 60 on average, from 35 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 126 on Nov 10.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Kāraikkudi stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kāraikkudi: Healthy tree cover
44.5% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
139,801
Target trees
139,801
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kāraikkudi lost?
There was very little forest around Kāraikkudi in 2000, about 9 hectares, and about 2 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 February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
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 | 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 Kāraikkudi?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good59% · 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown41% · under 1 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
- 2,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,100 ha
- Overall change
- +395 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kāraikkudi grew from about 2,700 hectares to 3,100 hectares, a net gain of about 395 hectares (+15%). New forest grew on about 495 hectares, while 100 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 Kāraikkudi
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Pudukkottai35.5 km
India
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 163
- Madurai72.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 90
- Tiruchirappalli83.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 170
- Thanjavur89.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 161
- Dindigul92.5 km
India
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 89
- Kumbakonam120.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 161
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kāraikkudi
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kāraikkudi right now?
The latest reading for Kāraikkudi shows an AQI of 139 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 11, 02:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kāraikkudi today?
At AQI 139 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Kāraikkudi been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kāraikkudi's daily AQI at 60 on average, from 35 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 126 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Kāraikkudi's AQI the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
How much forest has the area around Kāraikkudi lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Kāraikkudi in 2000, about 9 hectares, and about 2 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 Kāraikkudi grew from about 2,700 hectares to 3,100 hectares, a net gain of about 395 hectares (+15%). New forest grew on about 495 hectares, while 100 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kāraikkudi?
Kāraikkudi has an estimated 139,801 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 44.5% tree cover, already past the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kāraikkudi need?
Kāraikkudi has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kāraikkudi'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 Kallukatti; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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