City report · Tamil Nadu, India
Madurai Air quality today
Air quality in Madurai currently reads AQI 90 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 90
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 26.7
- tree cover
- 23.6%
- trees in this area
- 74.1K
- more trees needed
- 20.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Madurai Main, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625001, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 29, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Madurai · AQI 90 (Moderate)
Madurai's tree count comes to 74,142 trees across 12.57 km², 6 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 20,106 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Madurai today: AQI 90, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 12:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Thrissur and Ooty
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
26.7
PM10
40.0
NO₂
1.2
O₃
159.0
SO₂
11.9
CO
239.0
- 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 Madurai's daily AQI at 77 on average, from 44 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 153 on Nov 11.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Madurai stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Madurai: Below target
23.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
74,142
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
20,106
CO₂ if planted / yr
442.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Madurai lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Madurai has lost about 78 hectares of forest (about 110 football pitches): 17% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 78 haabout 110 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 17%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 66 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2002, when about 28 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 | 9 ha | 3 ha | 11 ha |
| 2002 | 22 ha | 6 ha | 28 ha |
| 2003 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2004 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2012 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 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 Madurai?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good66% · 52 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good18% · 14 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown16% · 12 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural 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
- 2,130 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,550 ha
- Overall change
- +419 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Madurai grew from about 2,130 hectares to 2,550 hectares, a net gain of about 419 hectares (+20%). New forest grew on about 493 hectares, while 74 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 Madurai
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Dindigul52.3 km
India
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 89
- Sivakasi62.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 84
- Kāraikkudi72.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 139
- Rajapalayam80.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 115
- Pudukkottai92.4 km
India
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 163
- Karur115.6 km
India
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 153
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Frequently asked
Questions about Madurai
What is the air quality (AQI) in Madurai right now?
The latest reading for Madurai shows an AQI of 90 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 12:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Madurai today?
At AQI 90 (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 Madurai been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Madurai's daily AQI at 77 on average, from 44 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 153 on Nov 11. On 2 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Madurai's AQI the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
How much forest has the area around Madurai lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Madurai has lost about 78 hectares of forest (about 110 football pitches): 17% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Madurai grew from about 2,130 hectares to 2,550 hectares, a net gain of about 419 hectares (+20%). New forest grew on about 493 hectares, while 74 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Madurai?
Madurai has an estimated 74,142 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 23.6% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Madurai need?
Madurai needs roughly 20,106 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 442.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Madurai'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 Madurai Main; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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