City report · Papua New Guinea
Mount Hagen Air quality today
Air quality in Mount Hagen currently reads AQI 26 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 26
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.7
- tree cover
- 52.8%
- trees in this area
- 166K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Mount Hagen Western Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 5, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Mount Hagen · AQI 26 (Good)
Mount Hagen's tree count comes to 165,876 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 Mount Hagen today: AQI 26, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.7
PM10
4.9
NO₂
1.6
O₃
25.0
SO₂
0.5
CO
146.0
- 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 Mount Hagen's daily AQI at 34 on average, from 26 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 5.
Where Mount Hagen stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Mount Hagen: Healthy tree cover
52.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
165,876
Target trees
165,876
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Mount Hagen lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mount Hagen has lost about 703 hectares of forest (about 980 football pitches): 3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 703 haabout 980 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 533 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 113 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 | 16 ha | 2 ha | 18 ha |
| 2002 | 38 ha | 7 ha | 45 ha |
| 2003 | 16 ha | 5 ha | 21 ha |
| 2004 | 38 ha | 7 ha | 45 ha |
| 2005 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2006 | 46 ha | 2 ha | 48 ha |
| 2007 | 20 ha | 6 ha | 26 ha |
| 2008 | 25 ha | 13 ha | 37 ha |
| 2009 | 103 ha | 10 ha | 113 ha |
| 2010 | 38 ha | 5 ha | 43 ha |
| 2011 | 7 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2012 | 39 ha | 1 ha | 41 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 23 ha | 10 ha | 34 ha |
| 2015 | 13 ha | 5 ha | 18 ha |
| 2016 | 9 ha | 10 ha | 19 ha |
| 2017 | 6 ha | 10 ha | 16 ha |
| 2018 | 16 ha | 30 ha | 46 ha |
| 2019 | 21 ha | 14 ha | 36 ha |
| 2020 | 7 ha | 6 ha | 13 ha |
| 2021 | 8 ha | 3 ha | 10 ha |
| 2022 | 15 ha | 6 ha | 20 ha |
| 2023 | 12 ha | 7 ha | 19 ha |
| 2024 | 5 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 4 ha | 10 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Mount Hagen?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good70% · 495 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back16% · 111 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back6.7% · 47 ha
Also: towns and roads, 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
- 19,600 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 18,800 ha
- Overall change
- −797 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mount Hagen shrank from about 19,600 hectares to 18,800 hectares, a net loss of about 797 hectares (−4.1%). New forest grew on about 155 hectares, but 952 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 Mount Hagen
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Merauke514.1 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 46
- Port Moresby515.3 km
Papua New Guinea
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 27
- Jayapura536.9 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 60%
- Air quality
- 26
- Popondetta547.1 km
Papua New Guinea
- Tree cover
- 62%
- Air quality
- 42
- Timika825.8 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 76
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Frequently asked
Questions about Mount Hagen
What is the air quality (AQI) in Mount Hagen right now?
The latest reading for Mount Hagen shows an AQI of 26 (Good), observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Mount Hagen today?
At AQI 26 (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 Mount Hagen been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mount Hagen's daily AQI at 34 on average, from 26 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Mount Hagen lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mount Hagen has lost about 703 hectares of forest (about 980 football pitches): 3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mount Hagen shrank from about 19,600 hectares to 18,800 hectares, a net loss of about 797 hectares (−4.1%). New forest grew on about 155 hectares, but 952 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Mount Hagen?
Mount Hagen has an estimated 165,876 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 52.8% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Mount Hagen need?
Mount Hagen has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Mount Hagen'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 Mount Hagen Western Highlands Province; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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