City report · Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
Palu Air quality today
Air quality in Palu currently reads AQI 49 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 49
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.4
- tree cover
- 11.7%
- trees in this area
- 36.8K
- more trees needed
- 57.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Palu, Palu City, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Palu · AQI 49 (Good)
Palu's tree count comes to 36,757 trees across 12.57 km², 18 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 57,491 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Palu today: AQI 49, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 22:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.4
PM10
8.7
NO₂
10.4
O₃
26.0
SO₂
2.2
CO
765.0
- 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 Palu's daily AQI at 70 on average, from 53 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 110 on Nov 4.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Indonesia's ISPU
Where Palu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Palu: Critically low
11.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
36,757
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
57,491
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,265 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Palu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Palu has lost about 2,090 hectares of forest (about 2,900 football pitches): 26% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,090 haabout 2,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 26%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,470 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 87 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 132 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 354 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 | 35 ha | 8 ha | 42 ha |
| 2002 | 32 ha | 14 ha | 46 ha |
| 2003 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2004 | 131 ha | 49 ha | 180 ha |
| 2005 | 8 ha | 9 ha | 17 ha |
| 2006 | 17 ha | 12 ha | 30 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 5 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 9 ha | 6 ha | 15 ha |
| 2009 | 238 ha | 81 ha | 319 ha |
| 2010 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 11 ha |
| 2011 | 42 ha | 10 ha | 51 ha |
| 2012 | 31 ha | 2 ha | 33 ha |
| 2013 | 18 ha | 4 ha | 22 ha |
| 2014 | 77 ha | 19 ha | 96 ha |
| 2015 | 76 ha | 45 ha | 120 ha |
| 2016 | 131 ha | 223 ha | 354 ha |
| 2017 | 50 ha | 3 ha | 53 ha |
| 2018 | 105 ha | 16 ha | 121 ha |
| 2019 | 57 ha | 17 ha | 75 ha |
| 2020 | 47 ha | 10 ha | 56 ha |
| 2021 | 26 ha | 3 ha | 29 ha |
| 2022 | 36 ha | 7 ha | 43 ha |
| 2023 | 187 ha | 70 ha | 257 ha |
| 2024 | 34 ha | 1 ha | 35 ha |
| 2025 | 68 ha | 4 ha | 72 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Palu?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good37% · 769 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back24% · 505 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good23% · 477 ha
Also: mining and energy, wildfires, logging, 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
- 10,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,910 ha
- Overall change
- −959 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Palu shrank from about 10,900 hectares to 9,910 hectares, a net loss of about 959 hectares (−8.8%). New forest grew on about 240 hectares, but 1,200 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 Palu
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Palopo234.6 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 62
- Toli-Toli240.9 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 56%
- Air quality
- 18
- Bontang289.4 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 53
- Samarinda306.5 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 67
- Loa Janan310.7 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 67
- Balikpapan340.5 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 55
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Frequently asked
Questions about Palu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Palu right now?
The latest reading for Palu shows an AQI of 49 (Good), observed Nov 10, 22:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Palu today?
At AQI 49 (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 Palu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Palu's daily AQI at 70 on average, from 53 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 110 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Palu's AQI the same as Indonesia's ISPU?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Indonesia's official index is the ISPU (Indeks Standar Pencemar Udara), published by the environment ministry from its own monitoring stations. Its bands are 0–50 Baik (good), 51–100 Sedang (moderate), 101–200 Tidak Sehat (unhealthy), 201–300 Sangat Tidak Sehat (very unhealthy) and over 300 Berbahaya (hazardous). The two indexes use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the same air can score differently on each.
How much forest has the area around Palu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Palu has lost about 2,090 hectares of forest (about 2,900 football pitches): 26% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 87 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 132 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Palu shrank from about 10,900 hectares to 9,910 hectares, a net loss of about 959 hectares (−8.8%). New forest grew on about 240 hectares, but 1,200 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Palu?
Palu has an estimated 36,757 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 11.7% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Palu need?
Palu needs roughly 57,491 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,265 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Palu'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 Palu; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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