City report · Hokkaido, Japan
Otaru Air quality today
Air quality in Otaru currently reads AQI 33 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 33
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.0
- tree cover
- 31.7%
- trees in this area
- 81.5K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around 3 Chome-4 Hanazono, Otaru, Hokkaido 047-0024, Japan (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Otaru · AQI 33 (Good)
Otaru's tree count comes to 81,463 trees across 10.28 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Otaru today: AQI 33, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 00:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Katsunaichō, Otaru-shi, Hokkaidō, Japan (勝納小樽市), 1.8 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.0
PM10
7.6
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Japan Atmospheric Environmental Regional Observation System (環境省大気汚染物質広域監視システム), Hokkaido Prefecture EPA (北海道)
- 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 Otaru's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 17 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 64 on Nov 5.
Where Otaru stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Otaru: Healthy tree cover
31.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.28 km² of land.
Trees in this area
81,463
Target trees
81,463
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Otaru lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Otaru has lost about 200 hectares of forest (about 280 football pitches): 1.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 70 hectares (35%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 200 haabout 280 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 70 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2014, when about 40 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 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | 7 ha | 14 ha | 21 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 7 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | 7 ha | 11 ha |
| 2014 | 19 ha | 21 ha | 40 ha |
| 2015 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2016 | 12 ha | 3 ha | 14 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | 12 ha | 14 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 15 ha | 16 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 14 ha | 14 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Otaru?
- Loggingcan grow back62% · 123 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good23% · 46 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good12% · 24 ha
Also: 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
- 15,200 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 15,200 ha
- Overall change
- −69 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Otaru stayed about the same size, at about 15,200 hectares: new forest grew on about 160 hectares, and about 230 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Otaru
What is the air quality (AQI) in Otaru right now?
The latest reading for Otaru shows an AQI of 33 (Good), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by the Katsunaichō, Otaru-shi, Hokkaidō, Japan (勝納小樽市) ground monitoring station, 1.8 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Otaru today?
At AQI 33 (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 Otaru been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Otaru's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 17 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 64 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 Otaru lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Otaru has lost about 200 hectares of forest (about 280 football pitches): 1.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 70 hectares (35%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Otaru stayed about the same size, at about 15,200 hectares: new forest grew on about 160 hectares, and about 230 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Otaru?
Otaru has an estimated 81,463 trees across the 10.28 km² of land measured — 31.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Otaru need?
Otaru has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Otaru's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near 3 Chome-4 Hanazono, 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 3 Chome-4 Hanazono; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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