City report · Penang, Malaysia
Paya Terubong Air quality today
Air quality in Paya Terubong currently reads AQI 48 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 48
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.6
- tree cover
- 79.0%
- trees in this area
- 248K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Paya Terubong, Air Itam, Penang, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Paya Terubong · AQI 48 (Good)
Paya Terubong's tree count comes to 248,186 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Paya Terubong today: AQI 48, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 23:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Minden, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, 3.6 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.6
PM10
14.1
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System
- 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 Paya Terubong's daily AQI at 49 on average, from 40 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide
Where Paya Terubong stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Paya Terubong: Healthy tree cover
79.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
248,186
Target trees
248,186
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Paya Terubong lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Paya Terubong has lost about 1,480 hectares of forest (about 2,100 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2018: satellite photo from February 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 4 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,480 haabout 2,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,350 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 60 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 84 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 106 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 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2002 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 37 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2004 | 23 ha | 3 ha | 26 ha |
| 2005 | 66 ha | 1 ha | 67 ha |
| 2006 | 60 ha | 4 ha | 64 ha |
| 2007 | 54 ha | 3 ha | 57 ha |
| 2008 | 47 ha | 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2009 | 69 ha | 1 ha | 70 ha |
| 2010 | 49 ha | 7 ha | 56 ha |
| 2011 | 67 ha | 5 ha | 72 ha |
| 2012 | 32 ha | 1 ha | 33 ha |
| 2013 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2014 | 78 ha | 9 ha | 87 ha |
| 2015 | 87 ha | 13 ha | 100 ha |
| 2016 | 86 ha | 20 ha | 106 ha |
| 2017 | 74 ha | 29 ha | 103 ha |
| 2018 | 60 ha | 10 ha | 70 ha |
| 2019 | 53 ha | 12 ha | 66 ha |
| 2020 | 76 ha | 1 ha | 78 ha |
| 2021 | 59 ha | 3 ha | 62 ha |
| 2022 | 50 ha | under 1 ha | 51 ha |
| 2023 | 74 ha | 1 ha | 75 ha |
| 2024 | 48 ha | 1 ha | 49 ha |
| 2025 | 56 ha | 7 ha | 62 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Paya Terubong?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good49% · 730 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good42% · 616 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back5.4% · 80 ha
Also: logging, storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, 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
- 15,500 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 15,100 ha
- Overall change
- −399 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Paya Terubong shrank from about 15,500 hectares to 15,100 hectares, a net loss of about 399 hectares (−2.6%). New forest grew on about 392 hectares, but 791 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 Paya Terubong
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Bukit Mertajam20.7 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 56
- Kota Kuala Muda26.0 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 55
- Tasek Glugor27.0 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 58%
- Air quality
- 53
- Kulim31.2 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 57%
- Air quality
- 20
- Sungai Petani38.2 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 52
- Taiping76.8 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 24
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Frequently asked
Questions about Paya Terubong
What is the air quality (AQI) in Paya Terubong right now?
The latest reading for Paya Terubong shows an AQI of 48 (Good), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Minden, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, 3.6 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Paya Terubong today?
At AQI 48 (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 Paya Terubong been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Paya Terubong's daily AQI at 49 on average, from 40 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Paya Terubong's AQI the same as Malaysia's API (IPU)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Malaysia's Department of Environment (Jabatan Alam Sekitar) publishes its own Air Pollutant Index, the API or Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU), every hour for each of its monitoring stations on APIMS (apims.doe.gov.my). Both scales call 0–50 good and 51–100 moderate; above that the IPU runs 101–200 unhealthy, 201–300 very unhealthy and over 300 hazardous. The two use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the numbers for the same hour often differ. For the official IPU reading, check the nearest station on APIMS.
How much forest has the area around Paya Terubong lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Paya Terubong has lost about 1,480 hectares of forest (about 2,100 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 60 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 84 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Paya Terubong shrank from about 15,500 hectares to 15,100 hectares, a net loss of about 399 hectares (−2.6%). New forest grew on about 392 hectares, but 791 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Paya Terubong?
Paya Terubong has an estimated 248,186 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 79.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Paya Terubong need?
Paya Terubong has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Paya Terubong's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Paya Terubong, 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 Paya Terubong; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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