City report · Eastern Cape, South Africa
Kariega Air quality today
Air quality in Kariega currently reads AQI 26 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 26
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.0
- tree cover
- 29.9%
- trees in this area
- 93.9K
- more trees needed
- 314
Measured across a 2 km radius around Mosel, Kariega, 6229, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kariega · AQI 26 (Good)
Kariega's tree count comes to 93,934 trees across 12.57 km², 0 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 314 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kariega today: AQI 26, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 05:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 250 km, e.g. Mdantsane and KuGompo City
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.0
PM10
6.3
NO₂
5.9
O₃
22.0
SO₂
3.3
CO
121.0
- 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 Kariega's daily AQI at 35 on average, from 26 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 60 on Nov 10.
Where Kariega stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kariega: Below target
29.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
93,934
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
314
CO₂ if planted / yr
6.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kariega lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kariega has lost about 445 hectares of forest (about 620 football pitches): 4.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (71%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 445 haabout 620 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 315 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2022, when about 55 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 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2004 | 12 ha | 2 ha | 14 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | 4 ha | 11 ha |
| 2008 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2009 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2010 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2011 | 43 ha | 5 ha | 48 ha |
| 2012 | 27 ha | 3 ha | 29 ha |
| 2013 | 31 ha | 19 ha | 50 ha |
| 2014 | 16 ha | 2 ha | 17 ha |
| 2015 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2016 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2017 | 17 ha | 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2018 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2019 | 8 ha | 9 ha | 17 ha |
| 2020 | 11 ha | 8 ha | 20 ha |
| 2021 | 11 ha | 9 ha | 21 ha |
| 2022 | 33 ha | 22 ha | 55 ha |
| 2023 | 12 ha | 19 ha | 31 ha |
| 2024 | 7 ha | 14 ha | 22 ha |
| 2025 | 11 ha | 5 ha | 15 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kariega?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good49% · 217 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good18% · 82 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back16% · 71 ha
Also: logging, mining and energy, 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
- 3,200 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,110 ha
- Overall change
- −87 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kariega shrank from about 3,200 hectares to 3,110 hectares, a net loss of about 87 hectares (−2.7%). New forest grew on about 14 hectares, but 101 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 Kariega
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Bhisho214.9 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 22
- Mdantsane238.9 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 31
- East London247.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 31
- Queenstown248.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 33
- George272.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 37
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kariega
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kariega right now?
The latest reading for Kariega shows an AQI of 26 (Good), observed Nov 11, 05:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kariega today?
At AQI 26 (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 Kariega been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kariega's daily AQI at 35 on average, from 26 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 60 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 Kariega lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kariega has lost about 445 hectares of forest (about 620 football pitches): 4.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (71%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kariega shrank from about 3,200 hectares to 3,110 hectares, a net loss of about 87 hectares (−2.7%). New forest grew on about 14 hectares, but 101 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kariega?
Kariega has an estimated 93,934 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 29.9% tree cover, 0 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kariega need?
Kariega needs roughly 314 more trees to close a 0-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 6.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Kariega'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 Mosel; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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