Skip to content
Airleaf
Shop

City report · Kedah, Malaysia

Kulim Air quality today

Air quality in Kulim currently reads AQI 20 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Air quality right now

AQI 20

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
3.6
tree cover
56.6%
trees in this area
178K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 2 km radius around Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Jul 6, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Kulim · AQI 20 (Good)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Jul 6, 2026

Kulim's tree count comes to 177,814 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 Kulim today: AQI 20, 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 · Kulim Hi-Tech, Kedah, Malaysia, 5.1 km away

Health signal

Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

PM2.5

3.6

PM10

9.7

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 Kulim's daily AQI at 49 on average, from 40 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 49 · peak 74
Nov 5: AQI 40 (peak 55)Nov 6: AQI 54 (peak 74)Nov 7: AQI 52 (peak 72)Nov 8: AQI 42 (peak 56)Nov 9: AQI 54 (peak 61)Nov 10: AQI 55 (peak 65)Nov 11: AQI 48 (peak 53)
Nov 5Nov 11

This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide

Where Kulim stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Kulim: Healthy tree cover

56.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².

Target reached

Trees in this area

177,814

Target trees

177,814

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Kulim lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kulim has lost about 9,070 hectares of forest (about 13,000 football pitches): 46% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (83%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.

Satellite image of the area around Kulim, May 2017

2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km east of the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
9,070 haabout 13,000 football pitches
Share of its forest
46%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
7,490 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 433 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 565 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 863 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Kulim, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Kulim, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.863

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Kulim, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
2001163 ha3 ha166 ha
2002302 ha11 ha313 ha
200376 ha4 ha80 ha
2004271 ha6 ha277 ha
2005144 ha24 ha168 ha
2006320 ha10 ha330 ha
2007113 ha3 ha116 ha
2008188 ha49 ha237 ha
2009219 ha55 ha274 ha
2010295 ha18 ha313 ha
2011139 ha2 ha141 ha
2012412 ha6 ha418 ha
2013143 ha2 ha145 ha
2014469 ha12 ha481 ha
2015602 ha19 ha621 ha
2016523 ha44 ha567 ha
2017444 ha419 ha863 ha
2018267 ha107 ha374 ha
2019567 ha7 ha574 ha
2020405 ha42 ha447 ha
2021406 ha93 ha499 ha
2022279 ha268 ha547 ha
2023313 ha306 ha619 ha
2024289 ha29 ha318 ha
2025141 ha40 ha181 ha

What is causing deforestation around Kulim?

  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good61% · 5,560 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good18% · 1,600 ha
  • Loggingcan grow back16% · 1,450 ha

Also: mining and energy, shifting farming, 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
23,900 ha
Forest in 2020
22,100 ha
Overall change
−1,760 haless forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kulim shrank from about 23,900 hectares to 22,100 hectares, a net loss of about 1,760 hectares (−7.4%). New forest grew on about 1,810 hectares, but 3,570 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 Kulim

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

Build your own

Compare Kulim with anywhere

This place

Kulim

Use this data

Put Kulim's numbers on your site

Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.

Kulim air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
HTML
Markdown

Frequently asked

Questions about Kulim

What is the air quality (AQI) in Kulim right now?

The latest reading for Kulim shows an AQI of 20 (Good), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by the Kulim Hi-Tech, Kedah, Malaysia ground monitoring station, 5.1 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Kulim today?

At AQI 20 (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 Kulim been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kulim's daily AQI at 49 on average, from 40 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Is Kulim'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 Kulim lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kulim has lost about 9,070 hectares of forest (about 13,000 football pitches): 46% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (83%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 433 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 565 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kulim shrank from about 23,900 hectares to 22,100 hectares, a net loss of about 1,760 hectares (−7.4%). New forest grew on about 1,810 hectares, but 3,570 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Kulim?

Kulim has an estimated 177,814 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 56.6% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Kulim need?

Kulim has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.

How are Kulim's air quality and tree cover measured?

Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kulim, 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 Kulim; 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