City report · New South Wales, Australia
Newcastle Air quality today
Air quality in Newcastle currently reads AQI 130 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 130
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 47.2
- tree cover
- 17.3%
- trees in this area
- 24.6K
- more trees needed
- 25.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around The Hill NSW 2300, Australia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 10, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Newcastle · AQI 130 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Newcastle's tree count comes to 24,566 trees across 5.68 km² of land, 18 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 25,134 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Newcastle today: AQI 130, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 03:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Hexham, 13.7 km away
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
47.2
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Overlord
- 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 Newcastle's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 22 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 69 on Nov 6.
Where Newcastle stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Newcastle: Critically low
17.3% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 5.68 km² of land.
Trees in this area
24,566
Target trees
49,700
More trees needed
25,134
CO₂ if planted / yr
552.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Newcastle lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Newcastle has lost about 552 hectares of forest (about 770 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 552 haabout 770 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 15%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 377 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2012, when about 181 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | 6 ha | 11 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2004 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2006 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2007 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2012 | 116 ha | 65 ha | 181 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 83 ha | 84 ha |
| 2014 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2015 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2016 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2017 | 13 ha | 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | 72 ha | 3 ha | 76 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2023 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Newcastle?
- Towns and roadscleared for good68% · 377 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back25% · 139 ha
- Loggingcan grow back3% · 16 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 4,050 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,020 ha
- Overall change
- −30 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Newcastle stayed about the same size, at about 4,020 hectares: new forest grew on about 115 hectares, and about 145 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 Newcastle
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Central Coast67.4 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 75%
- Air quality
- 59
- Sydney117.1 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 31
- Wollongong185.3 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 12
- Canberra357.9 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 8
- Gold Coast570.5 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 26
- Toowoomba597.2 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 13
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Frequently asked
Questions about Newcastle
What is the air quality (AQI) in Newcastle right now?
The latest reading for Newcastle shows an AQI of 130 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 12, 03:00 local time by the Hexham ground monitoring station, 13.7 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Newcastle today?
At AQI 130 (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 Newcastle been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Newcastle's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 22 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 69 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Newcastle lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Newcastle has lost about 552 hectares of forest (about 770 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Newcastle stayed about the same size, at about 4,020 hectares: new forest grew on about 115 hectares, and about 145 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Newcastle?
Newcastle has an estimated 24,566 trees across the 5.68 km² of land measured — 17.3% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Newcastle need?
Newcastle needs roughly 25,134 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 552.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Newcastle's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near The Hill NSW 2300, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. 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 The Hill NSW 2300; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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