City report · Selangor, Malaysia
Petaling Jaya Air quality today
Air quality in Petaling Jaya currently reads AQI 66 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 66
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 17.3
- tree cover
- 15.5%
- trees in this area
- 48.2K
- more trees needed
- 45.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Ss 5, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Petaling Jaya · AQI 66 (Moderate)
Petaling Jaya's tree count comes to 48,159 trees across 12.43 km² of land, 14 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 45,052 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Petaling Jaya today: AQI 66, Moderate
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 · Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, 2.9 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
17.3
PM10
21.6
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Petaling Jaya's daily AQI at 87 on average, from 81 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 166 on Nov 10.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide
Where Petaling Jaya stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Petaling Jaya: Critically low
15.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.43 km² of land.
Trees in this area
48,159
Target trees
93,211
More trees needed
45,052
CO₂ if planted / yr
991.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Petaling Jaya lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Petaling Jaya has lost about 1,710 hectares of forest (about 2,400 football pitches): 31% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) 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 northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,710 haabout 2,400 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 31%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,710 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 39 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 78 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2004, when about 170 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 | 127 ha | under 1 ha | 127 ha |
| 2002 | 146 ha | under 1 ha | 146 ha |
| 2003 | 57 ha | under 1 ha | 57 ha |
| 2004 | 170 ha | under 1 ha | 170 ha |
| 2005 | 66 ha | under 1 ha | 67 ha |
| 2006 | 73 ha | under 1 ha | 73 ha |
| 2007 | 104 ha | 1 ha | 105 ha |
| 2008 | 81 ha | under 1 ha | 81 ha |
| 2009 | 69 ha | under 1 ha | 69 ha |
| 2010 | 50 ha | under 1 ha | 50 ha |
| 2011 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2012 | 59 ha | under 1 ha | 59 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 74 ha | under 1 ha | 74 ha |
| 2015 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2016 | 160 ha | under 1 ha | 160 ha |
| 2017 | 91 ha | under 1 ha | 91 ha |
| 2018 | 70 ha | under 1 ha | 70 ha |
| 2019 | 52 ha | under 1 ha | 52 ha |
| 2020 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2021 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2023 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2024 | 58 ha | under 1 ha | 58 ha |
| 2025 | 97 ha | under 1 ha | 97 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Petaling Jaya?
- Towns and roadscleared for good98% · 1,680 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.5% · 26 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
- 9,270 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,520 ha
- Overall change
- +247 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Petaling Jaya grew from about 9,270 hectares to 9,520 hectares, a net gain of about 247 hectares (+2.7%). New forest grew on about 1,850 hectares, while 1,600 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 Petaling Jaya
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Bukit Rahman Putra13.3 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 63
- Setapak17.4 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 88
- Klang19.8 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 86
- Kajang23.8 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 83
- Rawang24.0 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 67
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Frequently asked
Questions about Petaling Jaya
What is the air quality (AQI) in Petaling Jaya right now?
The latest reading for Petaling Jaya shows an AQI of 66 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, 2.9 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Petaling Jaya today?
At AQI 66 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Petaling Jaya been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Petaling Jaya's daily AQI at 87 on average, from 81 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 166 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Petaling Jaya'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 Petaling Jaya lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Petaling Jaya has lost about 1,710 hectares of forest (about 2,400 football pitches): 31% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 39 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 78 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Petaling Jaya grew from about 9,270 hectares to 9,520 hectares, a net gain of about 247 hectares (+2.7%). New forest grew on about 1,850 hectares, while 1,600 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Petaling Jaya?
Petaling Jaya has an estimated 48,159 trees across the 12.43 km² of land measured — 15.5% tree cover, 14 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Petaling Jaya need?
Petaling Jaya needs roughly 45,052 more trees to close a 14-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 991.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Petaling Jaya's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Ss 5, 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 Ss 5; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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