City report · Western Cape, South Africa
Paarl Air quality today
Air quality in Paarl currently reads AQI 30 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 30
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.4
- tree cover
- 21.0%
- trees in this area
- 65.9K
- more trees needed
- 28.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bella Vista, Paarl, 7680, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Paarl · AQI 30 (Good)
Paarl's tree count comes to 65,907 trees across 12.56 km² of land, 9 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 28,246 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Paarl today: AQI 30, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Paarl, 4.5 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.4
PM10
24.2
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
1318.6
Data: OpenAQ · South Africa, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS)
- 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 Paarl's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 35 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 134 on Nov 5.
Where Paarl stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Paarl: Below target
21.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
65,907
Target trees
94,153
More trees needed
28,246
CO₂ if planted / yr
621.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Paarl lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Paarl has lost about 2,520 hectares of forest (about 3,500 football pitches): 36% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 446 hectares (18%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,520 haabout 3,500 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 36%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 446 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 55 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 273 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 716 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 15 ha | 15 ha | 29 ha |
| 2002 | 13 ha | 19 ha | 32 ha |
| 2003 | 9 ha | 21 ha | 30 ha |
| 2004 | 27 ha | 21 ha | 48 ha |
| 2005 | 8 ha | 70 ha | 78 ha |
| 2006 | 14 ha | 116 ha | 129 ha |
| 2007 | 19 ha | 30 ha | 49 ha |
| 2008 | 16 ha | 43 ha | 59 ha |
| 2009 | 20 ha | 87 ha | 107 ha |
| 2010 | 12 ha | 5 ha | 17 ha |
| 2011 | 8 ha | 8 ha | 16 ha |
| 2012 | 15 ha | 10 ha | 25 ha |
| 2013 | 40 ha | 115 ha | 154 ha |
| 2014 | 11 ha | 12 ha | 23 ha |
| 2015 | 27 ha | 62 ha | 89 ha |
| 2016 | 47 ha | 81 ha | 127 ha |
| 2017 | 43 ha | 673 ha | 716 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2019 | 9 ha | 26 ha | 35 ha |
| 2020 | 13 ha | 465 ha | 477 ha |
| 2021 | 13 ha | 26 ha | 38 ha |
| 2022 | 21 ha | 56 ha | 77 ha |
| 2023 | 16 ha | 7 ha | 23 ha |
| 2024 | 16 ha | 95 ha | 111 ha |
| 2025 | 11 ha | 16 ha | 26 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Paarl?
- Wildfirescan grow back80% · 2,020 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good15% · 391 ha
- Loggingcan grow back2.3% · 59 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
- 2,970 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,590 ha
- Overall change
- −375 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Paarl shrank from about 2,970 hectares to 2,590 hectares, a net loss of about 375 hectares (−13%). New forest grew on about 88 hectares, but 463 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 Paarl
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Somerset West41.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 79
- Worcester44.9 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 30
- Cape Town55.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 50
- George323.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 37
- Kariega594.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 26
- Gqeberha613.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 62
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Frequently asked
Questions about Paarl
What is the air quality (AQI) in Paarl right now?
The latest reading for Paarl shows an AQI of 30 (Good), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by the Paarl ground monitoring station, 4.5 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Paarl today?
At AQI 30 (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 Paarl been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Paarl's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 35 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 134 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 Paarl lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Paarl has lost about 2,520 hectares of forest (about 3,500 football pitches): 36% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 446 hectares (18%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 55 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 273 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Paarl shrank from about 2,970 hectares to 2,590 hectares, a net loss of about 375 hectares (−13%). New forest grew on about 88 hectares, but 463 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Paarl?
Paarl has an estimated 65,907 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 21.0% tree cover, 9 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Paarl need?
Paarl needs roughly 28,246 more trees to close a 9-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 621.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Paarl's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Bella Vista, 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 Bella Vista; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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