City report · Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
Pohang Air quality today
Air quality in Pohang currently reads AQI 71 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 71
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 20.0
- tree cover
- 19.7%
- trees in this area
- 53.5K
- more trees needed
- 28.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Jungheung-ro 310beon-gil, Buk-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 20, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Pohang · AQI 71 (Moderate)
Pohang's tree count comes to 53,472 trees across 10.86 km² of land, 10 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 27,958 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Pohang today: AQI 71, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 00:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · 송도동, 900 m away · median of 13 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
20.0
PM10
32.0
NO₂
18.9
O₃
78.5
SO₂
6.3
CO
641.5
Data: OpenAQ · Korea Air Ministry of Environment, Korea Environment Corporation · AirKorea
- 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 Pohang's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 45 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 76 on Nov 11.
Where Pohang stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Pohang: Below target
19.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.86 km² of land.
Trees in this area
53,472
Target trees
81,430
More trees needed
27,958
CO₂ if planted / yr
615.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Pohang lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pohang has lost about 1,030 hectares of forest (about 1,400 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (79%) 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 north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,030 haabout 1,400 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 813 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 52 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 38 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2025, when about 134 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 | 5 ha | 8 ha | 13 ha |
| 2002 | 10 ha | 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2003 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2004 | 84 ha | 26 ha | 110 ha |
| 2005 | 25 ha | 2 ha | 27 ha |
| 2006 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2007 | 77 ha | 1 ha | 78 ha |
| 2008 | 52 ha | under 1 ha | 52 ha |
| 2009 | 29 ha | 1 ha | 31 ha |
| 2010 | 32 ha | 3 ha | 35 ha |
| 2011 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2012 | 125 ha | 1 ha | 126 ha |
| 2013 | 22 ha | 5 ha | 28 ha |
| 2014 | 13 ha | 6 ha | 18 ha |
| 2015 | 15 ha | 10 ha | 24 ha |
| 2016 | 38 ha | 37 ha | 76 ha |
| 2017 | 19 ha | 17 ha | 36 ha |
| 2018 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2019 | 39 ha | 5 ha | 43 ha |
| 2020 | 16 ha | 2 ha | 18 ha |
| 2021 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2022 | 42 ha | 2 ha | 44 ha |
| 2023 | 36 ha | 11 ha | 46 ha |
| 2024 | 13 ha | 13 ha | 26 ha |
| 2025 | 74 ha | 60 ha | 134 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Pohang?
- Towns and roadscleared for good74% · 757 ha
- Loggingcan grow back13% · 136 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good5% · 52 ha
Also: wildfires, farms, pasture and plantations, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 10,000 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,830 ha
- Overall change
- −199 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pohang stayed about the same size, at about 9,830 hectares: new forest grew on about 560 hectares, and about 759 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 Pohang
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Gyeongju24.9 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 58
- Ulsan54.9 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 69
- Gyeongsan-si60.9 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 68
- Daegu71.9 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 75
- Yangsan82.1 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 60
- Andong82.9 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 70
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Frequently asked
Questions about Pohang
What is the air quality (AQI) in Pohang right now?
The latest reading for Pohang shows an AQI of 71 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by 13 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is 송도동, 900 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Pohang today?
At AQI 71 (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 Pohang been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Pohang's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 45 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 76 on Nov 11. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Pohang lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pohang has lost about 1,030 hectares of forest (about 1,400 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (79%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is speeding up: about 52 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 38 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pohang stayed about the same size, at about 9,830 hectares: new forest grew on about 560 hectares, and about 759 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Pohang?
Pohang has an estimated 53,472 trees across the 10.86 km² of land measured — 19.7% tree cover, 10 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Pohang need?
Pohang needs roughly 27,958 more trees to close a 10-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 615.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Pohang's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Jungheung-ro 310beon-gil, 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 Jungheung-ro 310beon-gil; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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