City report · Sabah, Malaysia
Kota Kinabalu Air quality today
Air quality in Kota Kinabalu currently reads AQI 40 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 40
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 7.2
- tree cover
- 43.1%
- trees in this area
- 98.7K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 2, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kota Kinabalu · AQI 40 (Good)
Kota Kinabalu's tree count comes to 98,709 trees across 9.16 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kota Kinabalu today: AQI 40, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 00:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, 9.6 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
7.2
PM10
19.4
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System
- 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 Kota Kinabalu's daily AQI at 48 on average, from 40 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 64 on Nov 7.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide
Where Kota Kinabalu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kota Kinabalu: Healthy tree cover
43.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.16 km² of land.
Trees in this area
98,709
Target trees
98,709
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kota Kinabalu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kota Kinabalu has lost about 1,720 hectares of forest (about 2,400 football pitches): 24% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2018: satellite photo from June 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,720 haabout 2,400 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 24%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,680 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 46 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 79 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2012, when about 138 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 | 44 ha | under 1 ha | 45 ha |
| 2002 | 55 ha | under 1 ha | 55 ha |
| 2003 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2004 | 96 ha | under 1 ha | 96 ha |
| 2005 | 53 ha | under 1 ha | 54 ha |
| 2006 | 73 ha | 3 ha | 76 ha |
| 2007 | 63 ha | 2 ha | 65 ha |
| 2008 | 90 ha | under 1 ha | 91 ha |
| 2009 | 107 ha | 2 ha | 109 ha |
| 2010 | 59 ha | 2 ha | 62 ha |
| 2011 | 45 ha | under 1 ha | 46 ha |
| 2012 | 138 ha | under 1 ha | 138 ha |
| 2013 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2014 | 109 ha | 1 ha | 110 ha |
| 2015 | 107 ha | 2 ha | 109 ha |
| 2016 | 93 ha | 4 ha | 97 ha |
| 2017 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2018 | 74 ha | under 1 ha | 74 ha |
| 2019 | 114 ha | 1 ha | 115 ha |
| 2020 | 63 ha | 8 ha | 72 ha |
| 2021 | 44 ha | under 1 ha | 44 ha |
| 2022 | 35 ha | 5 ha | 39 ha |
| 2023 | 61 ha | under 1 ha | 61 ha |
| 2024 | 49 ha | under 1 ha | 49 ha |
| 2025 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 37 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kota Kinabalu?
- Towns and roadscleared for good91% · 1,570 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good4.2% · 72 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good2.6% · 44 ha
Also: 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
- 8,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,900 ha
- Overall change
- −501 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kota Kinabalu shrank from about 8,400 hectares to 7,900 hectares, a net loss of about 501 hectares (−6%). New forest grew on about 425 hectares, but 927 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 Kota Kinabalu
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Bandar Seri Begawan173.9 km
Brunei
- Tree cover
- 56%
- Air quality
- 27
- Tutong204.5 km
Brunei
- Tree cover
- 62%
- Air quality
- 65
- Kuala Belait255.9 km
Brunei
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 28
- Lahad Datu271.3 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 46%
- Air quality
- 31
- Tawau278.5 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 67
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kota Kinabalu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kota Kinabalu right now?
The latest reading for Kota Kinabalu shows an AQI of 40 (Good), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by the Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia ground monitoring station, 9.6 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kota Kinabalu today?
At AQI 40 (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 Kota Kinabalu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kota Kinabalu's daily AQI at 48 on average, from 40 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 64 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Kota Kinabalu's AQI the same as Malaysia's API (IPU)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Malaysia's Department of Environment (Jabatan Alam Sekitar) publishes its own Air Pollutant Index, the API or Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU), every hour for each of its monitoring stations on APIMS (apims.doe.gov.my). Both scales call 0–50 good and 51–100 moderate; above that the IPU runs 101–200 unhealthy, 201–300 very unhealthy and over 300 hazardous. The two use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the numbers for the same hour often differ. For the official IPU reading, check the nearest station on APIMS.
How much forest has the area around Kota Kinabalu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kota Kinabalu has lost about 1,720 hectares of forest (about 2,400 football pitches): 24% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 46 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 79 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kota Kinabalu shrank from about 8,400 hectares to 7,900 hectares, a net loss of about 501 hectares (−6%). New forest grew on about 425 hectares, but 927 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kota Kinabalu?
Kota Kinabalu has an estimated 98,709 trees across the 9.16 km² of land measured — 43.1% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kota Kinabalu need?
Kota Kinabalu has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kota Kinabalu's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kota Kinabalu, 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 Kota Kinabalu; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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