City report · Sri Lanka
Negombo Air quality today
Air quality in Negombo currently reads AQI 51 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 51
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 7.0
- tree cover
- 40.7%
- trees in this area
- 80.9K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Negombo, Sri Lanka (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Negombo · AQI 51 (Moderate)
Negombo's tree count comes to 80,937 trees across 7.96 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Negombo today: AQI 51, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 03:30 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
7.0
PM10
7.2
NO₂
15.9
O₃
16.0
SO₂
1.1
CO
581.0
- 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 Negombo's daily AQI at 62 on average, from 53 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 107 on Nov 5.
Where Negombo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Negombo: Healthy tree cover
40.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 7.96 km² of land.
Trees in this area
80,937
Target trees
80,937
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Negombo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Negombo has lost about 346 hectares of forest (about 480 football pitches): 5.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 346 haabout 480 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 340 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2016, when about 45 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 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2002 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2004 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2005 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2006 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2007 | 24 ha | 1 ha | 25 ha |
| 2008 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2009 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2010 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2011 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2012 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2013 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2014 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2015 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2016 | 45 ha | under 1 ha | 45 ha |
| 2017 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2018 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2019 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2020 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2021 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2022 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2023 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2024 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2025 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Negombo?
- Towns and roadscleared for good89% · 308 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good9.1% · 32 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown1.8% · 6 ha
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
- 9,080 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,710 ha
- Overall change
- −362 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Negombo shrank from about 9,080 hectares to 8,710 hectares, a net loss of about 362 hectares (−4%). New forest grew on about 62 hectares, but 423 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 Negombo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Trincomalee216.2 km
Sri Lanka
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 25
- Kalmunai221.6 km
Sri Lanka
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 11
- Thoothukudi255.3 km
India
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 103
Also compared:Negombo vs Jaffna
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Frequently asked
Questions about Negombo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Negombo right now?
The latest reading for Negombo shows an AQI of 51 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 03:30 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 Negombo today?
At AQI 51 (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 Negombo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Negombo's daily AQI at 62 on average, from 53 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 107 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 Negombo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Negombo has lost about 346 hectares of forest (about 480 football pitches): 5.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Negombo shrank from about 9,080 hectares to 8,710 hectares, a net loss of about 362 hectares (−4%). New forest grew on about 62 hectares, but 423 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Negombo?
Negombo has an estimated 80,937 trees across the 7.96 km² of land measured — 40.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Negombo need?
Negombo has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Negombo'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 Negombo; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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