City report · KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Pinetown Air quality today
Air quality in Pinetown currently reads AQI 80 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 80
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 24.8
- tree cover
- 60.7%
- trees in this area
- 191K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Cowies Hill Park, Pinetown, 3610, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 9, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Pinetown · AQI 80 (Moderate)
Pinetown's tree count comes to 190,695 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 Pinetown today: AQI 80, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · City Hall - Durban-NAQI, 14.2 km away · median of 7 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
24.8
PM10
50.0
NO₂
17.8
O₃
37.7
SO₂
9.6
CO
—
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 Pinetown's daily AQI at 72 on average, from 48 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 143 on Nov 9.
Where Pinetown stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Pinetown: Healthy tree cover
60.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
190,695
Target trees
190,695
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Pinetown lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pinetown has lost about 474 hectares of forest (about 660 football pitches): 4.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (93%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 474 haabout 660 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 441 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2017, when about 53 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 | 20 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2005 | 26 ha | 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2006 | 34 ha | 2 ha | 36 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 11 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2010 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2012 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2013 | 15 ha | 3 ha | 19 ha |
| 2014 | 22 ha | 4 ha | 25 ha |
| 2015 | 46 ha | 6 ha | 52 ha |
| 2016 | 35 ha | 3 ha | 38 ha |
| 2017 | 50 ha | 3 ha | 53 ha |
| 2018 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2019 | 15 ha | 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2020 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2021 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2023 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2024 | 18 ha | 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2025 | 23 ha | 5 ha | 27 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Pinetown?
- Towns and roadscleared for good82% · 389 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good10% · 50 ha
- Loggingcan grow back3.8% · 18 ha
Also: 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
- 12,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 12,600 ha
- Overall change
- −107 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pinetown stayed about the same size, at about 12,600 hectares: new forest grew on about 80 hectares, and about 187 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 Pinetown
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Durban14.4 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 8%
- Air quality
- 80
- Mpumalanga24.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 129
- Pietermaritzburg52.8 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 69
- KwaDukuza67.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 31
- Richards Bay160.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 17
- Ladysmith176.8 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 46
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Frequently asked
Questions about Pinetown
What is the air quality (AQI) in Pinetown right now?
The latest reading for Pinetown shows an AQI of 80 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by 7 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is City Hall - Durban-NAQI, 14.2 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Pinetown today?
At AQI 80 (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 Pinetown been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Pinetown's daily AQI at 72 on average, from 48 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 143 on Nov 9. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Pinetown lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pinetown has lost about 474 hectares of forest (about 660 football pitches): 4.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (93%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pinetown stayed about the same size, at about 12,600 hectares: new forest grew on about 80 hectares, and about 187 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Pinetown?
Pinetown has an estimated 190,695 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 60.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Pinetown need?
Pinetown has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Pinetown's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Cowies Hill Park, 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 Cowies Hill Park; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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