City report · Free State, South Africa
Kroonstad Air quality today
Air quality in Kroonstad currently reads AQI 16 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 16
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.8
- tree cover
- 33.4%
- trees in this area
- 105K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kroonheuwel, Kroonstad, 9501, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kroonstad · AQI 16 (Good)
Kroonstad's tree count comes to 104,929 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kroonstad today: AQI 16, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 10 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 10 station cities within 185 km, e.g. Potchefstroom and Sasolburg
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.8
PM10
7.2
NO₂
0.0
O₃
108.0
SO₂
2.0
CO
114.0
- 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 Kroonstad's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 28 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 72 on Nov 10.
Where Kroonstad stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kroonstad: Healthy tree cover
33.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
104,929
Target trees
104,929
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kroonstad lost?
There was very little forest around Kroonstad in 2000, about 55 hectares, and about 11 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 July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
The worst year was 2001, when about 4 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 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 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 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 Kroonstad?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good60% · 7 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back19% · 2 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown21% · 2 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
- 140 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 140 ha
- Overall change
- +under 1 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kroonstad stayed about the same size, at about 140 hectares: new forest grew on about 3 hectares, and about 4 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 Kroonstad
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Welkom61.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 18
- Virginia62.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 49
- Orkney92.9 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 30
- Potchefstroom104.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 36
- Klerksdorp105.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 34
- Sasolburg109.4 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 52
Build your own
Compare Kroonstad with anywhere
This place
Kroonstad
Use this data
Put Kroonstad's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Kroonstad
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kroonstad right now?
The latest reading for Kroonstad shows an AQI of 16 (Good), observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 10 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kroonstad today?
At AQI 16 (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 Kroonstad been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kroonstad's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 28 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 72 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 Kroonstad lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Kroonstad in 2000, about 55 hectares, and about 11 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 Kroonstad stayed about the same size, at about 140 hectares: new forest grew on about 3 hectares, and about 4 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kroonstad?
Kroonstad has an estimated 104,929 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 33.4% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kroonstad need?
Kroonstad has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kroonstad'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 Kroonheuwel; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address