City report · Pahang, Malaysia
Kuantan Air quality today
Air quality in Kuantan currently reads AQI 31 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 31
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.5
- tree cover
- 25.0%
- trees in this area
- 70.6K
- more trees needed
- 14.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kompleks Pentadbiran Kerajaan Negeri Pahang, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 6, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kuantan · AQI 31 (Good)
Kuantan's tree count comes to 70,607 trees across 11.3 km² of land, 5 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 14,121 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kuantan today: AQI 31, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 23:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, 3.5 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.5
PM10
13.0
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 Kuantan's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 11 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 44 on Nov 4.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide
Where Kuantan stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kuantan: Below target
25.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.3 km² of land.
Trees in this area
70,607
Target trees
84,728
More trees needed
14,121
CO₂ if planted / yr
310.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kuantan lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kuantan has lost about 3,940 hectares of forest (about 5,500 football pitches): 35% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 3,940 haabout 5,500 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 35%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 3,900 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 132 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 262 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 451 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 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2002 | 177 ha | under 1 ha | 177 ha |
| 2003 | 46 ha | under 1 ha | 46 ha |
| 2004 | 116 ha | under 1 ha | 116 ha |
| 2005 | 77 ha | under 1 ha | 77 ha |
| 2006 | 192 ha | 3 ha | 195 ha |
| 2007 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2008 | 160 ha | 1 ha | 161 ha |
| 2009 | 119 ha | under 1 ha | 119 ha |
| 2010 | 183 ha | under 1 ha | 183 ha |
| 2011 | 43 ha | under 1 ha | 43 ha |
| 2012 | 151 ha | under 1 ha | 151 ha |
| 2013 | 170 ha | under 1 ha | 170 ha |
| 2014 | 287 ha | 8 ha | 295 ha |
| 2015 | 191 ha | 1 ha | 192 ha |
| 2016 | 450 ha | 1 ha | 451 ha |
| 2017 | 297 ha | 5 ha | 302 ha |
| 2018 | 119 ha | under 1 ha | 119 ha |
| 2019 | 313 ha | under 1 ha | 313 ha |
| 2020 | 124 ha | 1 ha | 125 ha |
| 2021 | 116 ha | under 1 ha | 116 ha |
| 2022 | 51 ha | under 1 ha | 51 ha |
| 2023 | 129 ha | under 1 ha | 129 ha |
| 2024 | 200 ha | 14 ha | 214 ha |
| 2025 | 151 ha | 1 ha | 152 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kuantan?
- Towns and roadscleared for good55% · 2,180 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good33% · 1,290 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good11% · 438 ha
Also: wildfires, 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
- 11,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,790 ha
- Overall change
- −2,520 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kuantan shrank from about 11,300 hectares to 8,790 hectares, a net loss of about 2,520 hectares (−22%). New forest grew on about 562 hectares, but 3,080 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 Kuantan
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Maran66.1 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 74%
- Air quality
- 20
- Kuala Terengganu170.5 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 53
- Kuala Kubu Baharu187.1 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 74%
- Air quality
- 53
- Setapak189.6 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 96
- Kajang193.1 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 83
- Selayang Baru Utara194.1 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 113
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kuantan
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kuantan right now?
The latest reading for Kuantan shows an AQI of 31 (Good), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by the Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia ground monitoring station, 3.5 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kuantan today?
At AQI 31 (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 Kuantan been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kuantan's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 11 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 44 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Kuantan'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 Kuantan lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kuantan has lost about 3,940 hectares of forest (about 5,500 football pitches): 35% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 132 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 262 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kuantan shrank from about 11,300 hectares to 8,790 hectares, a net loss of about 2,520 hectares (−22%). New forest grew on about 562 hectares, but 3,080 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kuantan?
Kuantan has an estimated 70,607 trees across the 11.3 km² of land measured — 25.0% tree cover, 5 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kuantan need?
Kuantan needs roughly 14,121 more trees to close a 5-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 310.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Kuantan's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kompleks Pentadbiran Kerajaan Negeri Pahang, 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 Kompleks Pentadbiran Kerajaan Negeri Pahang; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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