City report · North West, South Africa
Potchefstroom Air quality today
Air quality in Potchefstroom currently reads AQI 36 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 36
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.5
- tree cover
- 30.5%
- trees in this area
- 95.8K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Potchefstroom, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Potchefstroom · AQI 36 (Good)
Potchefstroom's tree count comes to 95,819 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 Potchefstroom today: AQI 36, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Welgegund-NAQI, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, South Africa, 22.8 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.5
PM10
19.4
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, South African Air Quality Information System - SAAQIS
- 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 Potchefstroom's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 36 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 95 on Nov 8.
Where Potchefstroom stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Potchefstroom: Healthy tree cover
30.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
95,819
Target trees
95,819
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Potchefstroom lost?
There was very little forest around Potchefstroom in 2000, about 80 hectares, and about 28 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
The worst year was 2001, when about 15 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 | 14 ha | 1 ha | 15 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 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Potchefstroom?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good60% · 17 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good32% · 9 ha
- Loggingcan grow back2.1% · under 1 ha
Also: 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
- 385 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 348 ha
- Overall change
- −37 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Potchefstroom shrank from about 385 hectares to 348 hectares, a net loss of about 37 hectares (−9.6%). New forest grew on about 14 hectares, but 51 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 Potchefstroom
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Klerksdorp45.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 34
- Carletonville49.4 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 31
- Orkney51.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 30
- Westonaria70.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 38
- Sasolburg72.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 52
- Vanderbijlpark73.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 55
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Frequently asked
Questions about Potchefstroom
What is the air quality (AQI) in Potchefstroom right now?
The latest reading for Potchefstroom shows an AQI of 36 (Good), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by the Welgegund-NAQI, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, South Africa ground monitoring station, 22.8 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Potchefstroom today?
At AQI 36 (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 Potchefstroom been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Potchefstroom's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 36 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 95 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Potchefstroom lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Potchefstroom in 2000, about 80 hectares, and about 28 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Potchefstroom shrank from about 385 hectares to 348 hectares, a net loss of about 37 hectares (−9.6%). New forest grew on about 14 hectares, but 51 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Potchefstroom?
Potchefstroom has an estimated 95,819 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 30.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Potchefstroom need?
Potchefstroom has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Potchefstroom's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Potchefstroom, 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 Potchefstroom; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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