City report · Bhutan
Phuntsholing Air quality today
Air quality in Phuntsholing currently reads AQI 78 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 78
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 23.6
- tree cover
- 61.0%
- trees in this area
- 192K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Phuentsholing, Bhutan (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Phuntsholing · AQI 78 (Moderate)
Phuntsholing's tree count comes to 191,637 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 Phuntsholing today: AQI 78, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 22:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · CST, 500 m away · median of 7 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
23.6
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Bharat
- 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 Phuntsholing's daily AQI at 103 on average, from 72 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 161 on Nov 7.
Where Phuntsholing stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Phuntsholing: Healthy tree cover
61.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
191,637
Target trees
191,637
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Phuntsholing lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Phuntsholing has lost about 953 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 5.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (62%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 953 haabout 1,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 590 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2010, when about 321 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 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2002 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2003 | 13 ha | 14 ha | 26 ha |
| 2004 | 15 ha | 8 ha | 23 ha |
| 2005 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2006 | 30 ha | 9 ha | 39 ha |
| 2007 | 13 ha | 30 ha | 43 ha |
| 2008 | 30 ha | 53 ha | 82 ha |
| 2009 | 28 ha | 18 ha | 45 ha |
| 2010 | 233 ha | 88 ha | 321 ha |
| 2011 | 36 ha | 10 ha | 46 ha |
| 2012 | 39 ha | 2 ha | 41 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 6 ha | 12 ha | 18 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | 12 ha | 16 ha |
| 2018 | 6 ha | 13 ha | 19 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | 14 ha | 19 ha |
| 2020 | 7 ha | 8 ha | 15 ha |
| 2021 | 15 ha | 10 ha | 25 ha |
| 2022 | 18 ha | 8 ha | 26 ha |
| 2023 | 41 ha | 14 ha | 55 ha |
| 2024 | 23 ha | 5 ha | 28 ha |
| 2025 | 12 ha | 19 ha | 31 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Phuntsholing?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good46% · 438 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back30% · 283 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good8.5% · 81 ha
Also: towns and roads, logging, 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
- 21,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 21,500 ha
- Overall change
- +266 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Phuntsholing stayed about the same size, at about 21,500 hectares: new forest grew on about 1,410 hectares, and about 1,140 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 Phuntsholing
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Jalpāiguri75.0 km
India
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 105
- Gangtok93.2 km
India
- Tree cover
- 83%
- Air quality
- 39
- Punākha95.4 km
Bhutan
- Tree cover
- 57%
- Air quality
- 65
- Siliguri96.6 km
India
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 62
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Frequently asked
Questions about Phuntsholing
What is the air quality (AQI) in Phuntsholing right now?
The latest reading for Phuntsholing shows an AQI of 78 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 22:00 local time by 7 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is CST, 500 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Phuntsholing today?
At AQI 78 (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 Phuntsholing been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Phuntsholing's daily AQI at 103 on average, from 72 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 161 on Nov 7. On 4 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Phuntsholing lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Phuntsholing has lost about 953 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 5.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (62%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Phuntsholing stayed about the same size, at about 21,500 hectares: new forest grew on about 1,410 hectares, and about 1,140 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Phuntsholing?
Phuntsholing has an estimated 191,637 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 61.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Phuntsholing need?
Phuntsholing has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Phuntsholing's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Phuentsholing, 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 Phuentsholing; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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