City report · India
Puducherry Air quality today
Air quality in Puducherry currently reads AQI 165 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Air quality right now
AQI 165
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 76.0
- tree cover
- 24.7%
- trees in this area
- 54.9K
- more trees needed
- 34.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around MG Road Area, Puducherry, 605001, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Puducherry · AQI 165 (Unhealthy)
Puducherry's tree count comes to 54,861 trees across 8.89 km² of land, 15 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 33,983 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Puducherry today: AQI 165, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 20:45 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Jawahar Nagar, Puducherry - PPCC, 3 km away
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
76.0
PM10
100.0
NO₂
42.9
O₃
81.9
SO₂
5.5
CO
1.0
Data: OpenAQ · CPCB, Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India (GODL-India)
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it
- Windows
- Keep them closed
- Mask
- Wear an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Puducherry's daily AQI at 78 on average, from 32 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 136 on Nov 10.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Puducherry stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Puducherry: Below target
24.7% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 8.89 km² of land.
Trees in this area
54,861
Target trees
88,844
More trees needed
33,983
CO₂ if planted / yr
747.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Puducherry lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Puducherry has lost about 6 hectares of forest (about 8 football pitches): 5.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (62%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 6 haabout 8 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 4 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2019, when about 1 hectare 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | 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 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 Puducherry?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good55% · 3 ha
- Loggingcan grow back36% · 2 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good3.6% · 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
- 4,380 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,860 ha
- Overall change
- +481 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Puducherry grew from about 4,380 hectares to 4,860 hectares, a net gain of about 481 hectares (+11%). New forest grew on about 570 hectares, while 89 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 Puducherry
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Cuddalore20.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 165
- Neyveli51.0 km
India
- Tree cover
- 70%
- Air quality
- 155
- Tiruvannamalai88.3 km
India
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 159
- Kallakurichi97.3 km
India
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 163
- Kanchipuram101.2 km
India
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 156
- Kumbakonam118.1 km
India
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 161
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Frequently asked
Questions about Puducherry
What is the air quality (AQI) in Puducherry right now?
The latest reading for Puducherry shows an AQI of 165 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 20:45 local time by the Jawahar Nagar, Puducherry - PPCC ground monitoring station, 3 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Puducherry today?
At AQI 165 (Unhealthy): everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it. Windows: keep them closed. Masks: wear an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Puducherry been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Puducherry's daily AQI at 78 on average, from 32 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 136 on Nov 10. On 3 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Puducherry's AQI the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
How much forest has the area around Puducherry lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Puducherry has lost about 6 hectares of forest (about 8 football pitches): 5.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (62%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Puducherry grew from about 4,380 hectares to 4,860 hectares, a net gain of about 481 hectares (+11%). New forest grew on about 570 hectares, while 89 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Puducherry?
Puducherry has an estimated 54,861 trees across the 8.89 km² of land measured — 24.7% tree cover, 15 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Puducherry need?
Puducherry needs roughly 33,983 more trees to close a 15-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 747.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Puducherry's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near MG Road Area, 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 MG Road Area; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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