City report · Limpopo, South Africa
Phalaborwa Air quality today
Air quality in Phalaborwa currently reads AQI 56 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 56
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.7
- tree cover
- 36.5%
- trees in this area
- 115K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Phalaborwa, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Phalaborwa · AQI 56 (Moderate)
Phalaborwa's tree count comes to 114,668 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 Phalaborwa today: AQI 56, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Phalaborwa-NAQI, 1.2 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.7
PM10
28.8
NO₂
1.0
O₃
74.5
SO₂
3.5
CO
458.2
Data: OpenAQ · South Africa, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS)
- 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 Phalaborwa's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 15 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 65 on Nov 5.
Where Phalaborwa stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Phalaborwa: Healthy tree cover
36.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
114,668
Target trees
114,668
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Phalaborwa lost?
There was almost no forest around Phalaborwa in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 787 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 727 ha
- Overall change
- −60 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Phalaborwa shrank from about 787 hectares to 727 hectares, a net loss of about 60 hectares (−7.6%). New forest grew on about 53 hectares, but 113 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 Phalaborwa
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Thohoyandou129.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 75
- Polokwane170.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 58
- Mbombela171.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 74
- Ressano Garcia187.8 km
Mozambique
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 63
- Mokopane218.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 47
- Matola260.9 km
Mozambique
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 47
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Frequently asked
Questions about Phalaborwa
What is the air quality (AQI) in Phalaborwa right now?
The latest reading for Phalaborwa shows an AQI of 56 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 18:00 local time by the Phalaborwa-NAQI ground monitoring station, 1.2 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Phalaborwa today?
At AQI 56 (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 Phalaborwa been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Phalaborwa's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 15 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 65 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 Phalaborwa lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Phalaborwa in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Phalaborwa shrank from about 787 hectares to 727 hectares, a net loss of about 60 hectares (−7.6%). New forest grew on about 53 hectares, but 113 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Phalaborwa?
Phalaborwa has an estimated 114,668 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 36.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Phalaborwa need?
Phalaborwa has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Phalaborwa's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Phalaborwa, 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 Phalaborwa; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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