City report · Jamaica
Kingston Air quality today
Air quality in Kingston currently reads AQI 52 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 52
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.9
- tree cover
- 14.5%
- trees in this area
- 45.6K
- more trees needed
- 48.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kencot, Kingston, Jamaica (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kingston · AQI 52 (Moderate)
Kingston's tree count comes to 45,553 trees across 12.57 km², 16 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 48,695 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kingston today: AQI 52, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.9
PM10
12.4
NO₂
17.0
O₃
32.0
SO₂
2.6
CO
2878.0
- 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 Kingston's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 31 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 7.
Where Kingston stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kingston: Critically low
14.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
45,553
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
48,695
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,071 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kingston lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kingston has lost about 466 hectares of forest (about 650 football pitches): 5.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (83%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 466 haabout 650 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 388 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2016, when about 54 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Kingston's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 21 ha | 3 ha | 24 ha |
| 2002 | 17 ha | 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2003 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2004 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2005 | 20 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2006 | 35 ha | 4 ha | 38 ha |
| 2007 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2008 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2009 | 9 ha | 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2010 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2011 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2012 | 10 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2013 | 4 ha | 4 ha | 8 ha |
| 2014 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2015 | 14 ha | 6 ha | 19 ha |
| 2016 | 13 ha | 40 ha | 54 ha |
| 2017 | 19 ha | 7 ha | 26 ha |
| 2018 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2019 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2020 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 16 ha | 2 ha | 18 ha |
| 2023 | 10 ha | 2 ha | 12 ha |
| 2024 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2025 | 25 ha | 1 ha | 27 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kingston?
- Towns and roadscleared for good52% · 241 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good25% · 118 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back9.7% · 45 ha
Also: mining and energy, shifting farming, 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
- 10,600 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 10,600 ha
- Overall change
- +56 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kingston stayed about the same size, at about 10,600 hectares: new forest grew on about 144 hectares, and about 88 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 Kingston
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Ocho Rios56.2 km
Jamaica
- Tree cover
- 60%
- Air quality
- 41
- Santiago de Cuba247.4 km
Cuba
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 18
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kingston
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kingston right now?
The latest reading for Kingston shows an AQI of 52 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kingston today?
At AQI 52 (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 Kingston been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kingston's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 31 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Kingston lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kingston has lost about 466 hectares of forest (about 650 football pitches): 5.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (83%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kingston stayed about the same size, at about 10,600 hectares: new forest grew on about 144 hectares, and about 88 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kingston?
Kingston has an estimated 45,553 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 14.5% tree cover, 16 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kingston need?
Kingston needs roughly 48,695 more trees to close a 16-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,071 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Kingston'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 Kencot; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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