City report · Hyōgo, Japan
Kobe Air quality today
Air quality in Kobe currently reads AQI 38 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 38
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.9
- tree cover
- 27.7%
- trees in this area
- 78.4K
- more trees needed
- 6.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around 5 Chome-10 Shimoyamatedori, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0011, Japan (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kobe · AQI 38 (Good)
Kobe's tree count comes to 78,407 trees across 11.33 km² of land, 2 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 6,510 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kobe today: AQI 38, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 11:00 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
5.9
PM10
7.6
NO₂
8.8
O₃
82.0
SO₂
6.2
CO
152.0
- 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 Kobe's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 28 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 6.
Where Kobe stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kobe: Below target
27.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.33 km² of land.
Trees in this area
78,407
Target trees
84,917
More trees needed
6,510
CO₂ if planted / yr
143.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kobe lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kobe has lost about 185 hectares of forest (about 260 football pitches): 2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 185 haabout 260 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 163 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 28 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 | 25 ha | 3 ha | 28 ha |
| 2002 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2004 | 13 ha | 2 ha | 15 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | 13 ha | 2 ha | 15 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2010 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2011 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2013 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2017 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2021 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2024 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2025 | 9 ha | 3 ha | 11 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kobe?
- Towns and roadscleared for good75% · 139 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good13% · 24 ha
- Loggingcan grow back4.7% · 9 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
- 10,500 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 10,500 ha
- Overall change
- −8 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kobe stayed about the same size, at about 10,500 hectares: new forest grew on about 103 hectares, and about 111 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 Kobe
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Nishinomiya13.9 km
Japan
- Tree cover
- 8%
- Air quality
- 38
- Akashi16.6 km
Japan
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 38
- Takarazuka19.9 km
Japan
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 38
- Sandachō21.8 km
Japan
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 38
- Toyonaka28.1 km
Japan
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 55
- Sakai28.6 km
Japan
- Tree cover
- 2%
- Air quality
- 53
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kobe
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kobe right now?
The latest reading for Kobe shows an AQI of 38 (Good), observed Nov 11, 11:00 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 Kobe today?
At AQI 38 (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 Kobe been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kobe's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 28 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Kobe lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kobe has lost about 185 hectares of forest (about 260 football pitches): 2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kobe stayed about the same size, at about 10,500 hectares: new forest grew on about 103 hectares, and about 111 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kobe?
Kobe has an estimated 78,407 trees across the 11.33 km² of land measured — 27.7% tree cover, 2 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kobe need?
Kobe needs roughly 6,510 more trees to close a 2-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 143.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Kobe'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 5 Chome-10 Shimoyamatedori; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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