City report · KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Mpumalanga Air quality today
Air quality in Mpumalanga currently reads AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 115
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 43.3
- tree cover
- 24.0%
- trees in this area
- 75.4K
- more trees needed
- 34.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Mpumalanga G, Mpumalanga, 3701, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Mpumalanga · AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Mpumalanga's tree count comes to 75,398 trees across 12.57 km², 11 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 34,558 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Mpumalanga today: AQI 115, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 01:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 6 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 6 station cities within 185 km, e.g. Pinetown and Ntuzuma
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
43.3
PM10
48.8
NO₂
30.0
O₃
4.0
SO₂
39.4
CO
543.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mpumalanga's daily AQI at 72 on average, from 48 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 143 on Nov 9.
Where Mpumalanga stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Mpumalanga: Below target
24.0% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
75,398
Target trees
109,956
More trees needed
34,558
CO₂ if planted / yr
760.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Mpumalanga lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mpumalanga has lost about 778 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 7.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (77%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 778 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 7.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 598 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2016, when about 82 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 | 15 ha | 2 ha | 17 ha |
| 2002 | 13 ha | 4 ha | 17 ha |
| 2003 | 28 ha | 4 ha | 32 ha |
| 2004 | 9 ha | 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2005 | 42 ha | 18 ha | 60 ha |
| 2006 | 24 ha | 4 ha | 28 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2008 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 11 ha | 3 ha | 14 ha |
| 2010 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 12 ha |
| 2011 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2012 | 35 ha | 5 ha | 39 ha |
| 2013 | 31 ha | 13 ha | 44 ha |
| 2014 | 56 ha | 9 ha | 65 ha |
| 2015 | 42 ha | 4 ha | 46 ha |
| 2016 | 46 ha | 36 ha | 82 ha |
| 2017 | 44 ha | 13 ha | 56 ha |
| 2018 | 31 ha | 10 ha | 41 ha |
| 2019 | 16 ha | 4 ha | 21 ha |
| 2020 | 14 ha | 4 ha | 17 ha |
| 2021 | 15 ha | 12 ha | 27 ha |
| 2022 | 38 ha | 5 ha | 42 ha |
| 2023 | 17 ha | 3 ha | 19 ha |
| 2024 | 17 ha | 21 ha | 38 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 4 ha | 10 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Mpumalanga?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good54% · 423 ha
- Loggingcan grow back22% · 170 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good21% · 165 ha
Also: mining and energy, wildfires, 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
- 11,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 11,400 ha
- Overall change
- −485 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mpumalanga shrank from about 11,900 hectares to 11,400 hectares, a net loss of about 485 hectares (−4.1%). New forest grew on about 93 hectares, but 577 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 Mpumalanga
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Pinetown24.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 61%
- Air quality
- 80
- Ntuzuma31.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 80
- Pietermaritzburg32.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 69
- Durban38.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 8%
- Air quality
- 80
- KwaDukuza83.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 31
- Ladysmith162.4 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 46
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Frequently asked
Questions about Mpumalanga
What is the air quality (AQI) in Mpumalanga right now?
The latest reading for Mpumalanga shows an AQI of 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 11, 01:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 6 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Mpumalanga today?
At AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Mpumalanga been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mpumalanga's daily AQI at 72 on average, from 48 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 143 on Nov 9. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Mpumalanga lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mpumalanga has lost about 778 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 7.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (77%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mpumalanga shrank from about 11,900 hectares to 11,400 hectares, a net loss of about 485 hectares (−4.1%). New forest grew on about 93 hectares, but 577 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Mpumalanga?
Mpumalanga has an estimated 75,398 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 24.0% tree cover, 11 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Mpumalanga need?
Mpumalanga needs roughly 34,558 more trees to close a 11-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 760.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Mpumalanga'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 Mpumalanga G; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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