City report · South Sudan
Malakal Air quality today
Air quality in Malakal currently reads AQI 87 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 87
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 30.7
- tree cover
- 12.1%
- trees in this area
- 35.6K
- more trees needed
- 52.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Malakal, South Sudan (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 8, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Malakal · AQI 87 (Moderate)
Malakal's tree count comes to 35,580 trees across 11.77 km² of land, 18 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 52,635 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Malakal today: AQI 87, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
30.7
PM10
66.4
NO₂
1.3
O₃
63.0
SO₂
0.6
CO
117.0
- 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 Malakal's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 73 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 151 on Nov 6.
Where Malakal stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Malakal: Critically low
12.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.77 km² of land.
Trees in this area
35,580
Target trees
88,215
More trees needed
52,635
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,158 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Malakal lost?
There was almost no forest around Malakal in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose 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 January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 3,120 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,390 ha
- Overall change
- +1,270 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Malakal grew from about 3,120 hectares to 4,390 hectares, a net gain of about 1,270 hectares (+41%). New forest grew on about 1,440 hectares, while 173 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 Malakal
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Ad-Damazin387.1 km
Sudan
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 69
- Kosti418.1 km
Sudan
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 80
- Rabak422.3 km
Sudan
- Tree cover
- 2%
- Air quality
- 80
- El Obeid435.4 km
Sudan
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 106
- Winejok452.5 km
South Sudan
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 86
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Frequently asked
Questions about Malakal
What is the air quality (AQI) in Malakal right now?
The latest reading for Malakal shows an AQI of 87 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, 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 Malakal today?
At AQI 87 (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 Malakal been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Malakal's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 73 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 151 on Nov 6. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Malakal lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Malakal in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose 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 Malakal grew from about 3,120 hectares to 4,390 hectares, a net gain of about 1,270 hectares (+41%). New forest grew on about 1,440 hectares, while 173 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Malakal?
Malakal has an estimated 35,580 trees across the 11.77 km² of land measured — 12.1% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Malakal need?
Malakal needs roughly 52,635 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,158 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Malakal'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 Malakal; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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