City report · Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby Air quality today
Air quality in Port Moresby currently reads AQI 27 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 27
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.3
- tree cover
- 21.7%
- trees in this area
- 23.0K
- more trees needed
- 8.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Port Moresby, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Port Moresby · AQI 27 (Good)
Port Moresby's tree count comes to 22,974 trees across 4.24 km² of land, 8 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 8,787 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Port Moresby today: AQI 27, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 19:00 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
5.3
PM10
8.5
NO₂
1.2
O₃
24.0
SO₂
0.7
CO
97.0
- 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 Port Moresby's daily AQI at 33 on average, from 25 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 51 on Nov 5.
Where Port Moresby stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Port Moresby: Below target
21.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.24 km² of land.
Trees in this area
22,974
Target trees
31,761
More trees needed
8,787
CO₂ if planted / yr
193.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Port Moresby lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Port Moresby has lost about 69 hectares of forest (about 97 football pitches): 6.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (81%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from November 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 69 haabout 97 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 56 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2024, when about 12 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 | 1 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 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 | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2012 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2016 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 11 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 4 ha | 10 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Port Moresby?
- Towns and roadscleared for good78% · 54 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.9% · 2 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown19% · 13 ha
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
- 6,050 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,230 ha
- Overall change
- +185 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Port Moresby grew from about 6,050 hectares to 6,230 hectares, a net gain of about 185 hectares (+3.1%). New forest grew on about 270 hectares, while 84 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 Port Moresby
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Mount Hagen515.3 km
Papua New Guinea
- Tree cover
- 53%
- Air quality
- 26
- Merauke748.7 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 46
- Cairns841.5 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 52
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Frequently asked
Questions about Port Moresby
What is the air quality (AQI) in Port Moresby right now?
The latest reading for Port Moresby shows an AQI of 27 (Good), observed Nov 10, 19:00 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 Port Moresby today?
At AQI 27 (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 Port Moresby been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Port Moresby's daily AQI at 33 on average, from 25 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 51 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 Port Moresby lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Port Moresby has lost about 69 hectares of forest (about 97 football pitches): 6.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (81%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Port Moresby grew from about 6,050 hectares to 6,230 hectares, a net gain of about 185 hectares (+3.1%). New forest grew on about 270 hectares, while 84 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Port Moresby?
Port Moresby has an estimated 22,974 trees across the 4.24 km² of land measured — 21.7% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Port Moresby need?
Port Moresby needs roughly 8,787 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 193.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Port Moresby'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 Port Moresby; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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