City report · Guangdong, China
Lecheng Air quality today
Air quality in Lecheng currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 55
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.0
- tree cover
- 27.1%
- trees in this area
- 79.8K
- more trees needed
- 8.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Lechang, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Lecheng · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Lecheng's tree count comes to 79,774 trees across 11.78 km² of land, 3 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 8,537 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Lecheng today: AQI 55, Moderate
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 · 乐昌乐城, (韶关市乐昌乐城), 800 m away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.0
PM10
21.6
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Guangdong Environmental Protection public network (广东环境保护公众网)
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Lecheng's daily AQI at 86 on average, from 68 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 172 on Nov 11.
Where Lecheng stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Lecheng: Below target
27.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.78 km² of land.
Trees in this area
79,774
Target trees
88,311
More trees needed
8,537
CO₂ if planted / yr
187.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Lecheng lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Lecheng has lost about 4,440 hectares of forest (about 6,200 football pitches): 30% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 525 hectares (12%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from November 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 4,440 haabout 6,200 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 30%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 525 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 122 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 131 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2007, when about 427 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 | 100 ha | 103 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | 117 ha | 120 ha |
| 2003 | 22 ha | 120 ha | 142 ha |
| 2004 | 18 ha | 182 ha | 200 ha |
| 2005 | 10 ha | 214 ha | 224 ha |
| 2006 | 16 ha | 186 ha | 202 ha |
| 2007 | 153 ha | 274 ha | 427 ha |
| 2008 | 15 ha | 235 ha | 250 ha |
| 2009 | 53 ha | 146 ha | 198 ha |
| 2010 | 133 ha | 206 ha | 339 ha |
| 2011 | 17 ha | 125 ha | 142 ha |
| 2012 | 34 ha | 290 ha | 324 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | 105 ha | 107 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 211 ha | 212 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | 185 ha | 186 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 177 ha | 178 ha |
| 2017 | 5 ha | 136 ha | 140 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | 138 ha | 140 ha |
| 2019 | 10 ha | 126 ha | 135 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | 58 ha | 61 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | 81 ha | 84 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | 103 ha | 111 ha |
| 2023 | 4 ha | 137 ha | 141 ha |
| 2024 | 8 ha | 172 ha | 180 ha |
| 2025 | 4 ha | 89 ha | 93 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Lecheng?
- Loggingcan grow back88% · 3,910 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.1% · 358 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.8% · 168 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
- 18,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 17,500 ha
- Overall change
- −826 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Lecheng shrank from about 18,400 hectares to 17,500 hectares, a net loss of about 826 hectares (−4.5%). New forest grew on about 380 hectares, but 1,210 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Lecheng
What is the air quality (AQI) in Lecheng right now?
The latest reading for Lecheng shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by the 乐昌乐城, (韶关市乐昌乐城) ground monitoring station, 800 m away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Lecheng today?
At AQI 55 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Lecheng been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Lecheng's daily AQI at 86 on average, from 68 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 172 on Nov 11. On 2 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Lecheng lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Lecheng has lost about 4,440 hectares of forest (about 6,200 football pitches): 30% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 525 hectares (12%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 122 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 131 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Lecheng shrank from about 18,400 hectares to 17,500 hectares, a net loss of about 826 hectares (−4.5%). New forest grew on about 380 hectares, but 1,210 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Lecheng?
Lecheng has an estimated 79,774 trees across the 11.78 km² of land measured — 27.1% tree cover, 3 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Lecheng need?
Lecheng needs roughly 8,537 more trees to close a 3-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 187.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Lecheng's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Lechang, 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 Lechang; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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