City report · Nepal
Pokhara Air quality today
Air quality in Pokhara currently reads AQI 82 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 82
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 25.8
- tree cover
- 56.5%
- trees in this area
- 178K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Pokhara, Gandaki Province, Nepal (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Pokhara · AQI 82 (Moderate)
Pokhara's tree count comes to 177,500 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 Pokhara today: AQI 82, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 21:45 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Shree Vindhyavasini Secondary School, Pokhara, 1.2 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
25.8
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Clean Energy Nepal (CEN)
- 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 Pokhara's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 50 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 87 on Nov 5.
Where Pokhara stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Pokhara: Healthy tree cover
56.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
177,500
Target trees
177,500
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Pokhara lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pokhara has lost about 21 hectares of forest (about 30 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 21 haabout 30 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 12 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2024, when about 5 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Pokhara?
- Towns and roadscleared for good55% · 12 ha
- Loggingcan grow back12% · 3 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back3.7% · under 1 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 19,100 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 19,700 ha
- Overall change
- +601 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pokhara grew from about 19,100 hectares to 19,700 hectares, a net gain of about 601 hectares (+3.1%). New forest grew on about 641 hectares, while 40 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Pokhara
What is the air quality (AQI) in Pokhara right now?
The latest reading for Pokhara shows an AQI of 82 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 21:45 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Shree Vindhyavasini Secondary School, Pokhara, 1.2 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Pokhara today?
At AQI 82 (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 Pokhara been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Pokhara's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 50 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 87 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 Pokhara lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pokhara has lost about 21 hectares of forest (about 30 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pokhara grew from about 19,100 hectares to 19,700 hectares, a net gain of about 601 hectares (+3.1%). New forest grew on about 641 hectares, while 40 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Pokhara?
Pokhara has an estimated 177,500 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 56.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Pokhara need?
Pokhara has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Pokhara's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Pokhara, 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 Pokhara; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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