City report · Papua New Guinea
Popondetta Air quality today
Air quality in Popondetta currently reads AQI 42 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 42
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 7.7
- tree cover
- 61.8%
- trees in this area
- 194K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Popondetta Northern Province, Papua New Guinea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Popondetta · AQI 42 (Good)
Popondetta's tree count comes to 194,150 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 Popondetta today: AQI 42, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 20:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
7.7
PM10
11.9
NO₂
0.8
O₃
27.0
SO₂
0.6
CO
118.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Popondetta's daily AQI at 25 on average, from 15 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 49 on Nov 6.
Where Popondetta stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Popondetta: Healthy tree cover
61.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
194,150
Target trees
194,150
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Popondetta lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Popondetta has lost about 7,840 hectares of forest (about 11,000 football pitches): 29% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from December 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 7,840 haabout 11,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 29%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 5,980 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 368 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 254 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2001, when about 758 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 | 667 ha | 91 ha | 758 ha |
| 2002 | 486 ha | 27 ha | 513 ha |
| 2003 | 47 ha | 32 ha | 78 ha |
| 2004 | 394 ha | 84 ha | 478 ha |
| 2005 | 77 ha | 1 ha | 78 ha |
| 2006 | 256 ha | 37 ha | 293 ha |
| 2007 | 130 ha | 103 ha | 233 ha |
| 2008 | 203 ha | 225 ha | 428 ha |
| 2009 | 50 ha | 67 ha | 117 ha |
| 2010 | 90 ha | 61 ha | 151 ha |
| 2011 | 194 ha | 71 ha | 265 ha |
| 2012 | 129 ha | 97 ha | 226 ha |
| 2013 | 132 ha | 58 ha | 190 ha |
| 2014 | 620 ha | 100 ha | 720 ha |
| 2015 | 135 ha | 66 ha | 201 ha |
| 2016 | 40 ha | 79 ha | 119 ha |
| 2017 | 88 ha | 67 ha | 155 ha |
| 2018 | 74 ha | 67 ha | 140 ha |
| 2019 | 674 ha | 60 ha | 734 ha |
| 2020 | 42 ha | 79 ha | 121 ha |
| 2021 | 228 ha | 58 ha | 286 ha |
| 2022 | 176 ha | 129 ha | 305 ha |
| 2023 | 168 ha | 79 ha | 247 ha |
| 2024 | 373 ha | 77 ha | 450 ha |
| 2025 | 506 ha | 44 ha | 550 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Popondetta?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good76% · 5,980 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back22% · 1,720 ha
- Loggingcan grow back1.8% · 142 ha
Also: towns and roads, 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
- 26,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 26,200 ha
- Overall change
- −187 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Popondetta stayed about the same size, at about 26,200 hectares: new forest grew on about 758 hectares, and about 945 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 Popondetta
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Mount Hagen547.1 km
Papua New Guinea
- Tree cover
- 53%
- Air quality
- 26
- Merauke860.9 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 46
- Cairns945.7 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 52
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Frequently asked
Questions about Popondetta
What is the air quality (AQI) in Popondetta right now?
The latest reading for Popondetta shows an AQI of 42 (Good), observed Nov 11, 20:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Popondetta today?
At AQI 42 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Popondetta been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Popondetta's daily AQI at 25 on average, from 15 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 49 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Popondetta lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Popondetta has lost about 7,840 hectares of forest (about 11,000 football pitches): 29% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is speeding up: about 368 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 254 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Popondetta stayed about the same size, at about 26,200 hectares: new forest grew on about 758 hectares, and about 945 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Popondetta?
Popondetta has an estimated 194,150 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 61.8% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Popondetta need?
Popondetta has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Popondetta's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Popondetta Northern Province; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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