City report · Gauteng, South Africa
Randfontein Air quality today
Air quality in Randfontein currently reads AQI 52 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 52
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.6
- tree cover
- 14.2%
- trees in this area
- 44.6K
- more trees needed
- 49.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Randfontein, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 22, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Randfontein · AQI 52 (Moderate)
Randfontein's tree count comes to 44,611 trees across 12.57 km², 16 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 49,637 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Randfontein today: AQI 52, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 11 ground-station cities within 65 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 11 station cities within 65 km, e.g. Krugersdorp and Roodepoort
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
5.6
PM10
17.6
NO₂
1.9
O₃
141.0
SO₂
21.6
CO
291.0
- 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 Randfontein's daily AQI at 68 on average, from 43 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 157 on Nov 11.
Where Randfontein stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Randfontein: Critically low
14.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
44,611
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
49,637
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,092 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Randfontein lost?
There was very little forest around Randfontein in 2000, about 80 hectares, and about 49 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 2017, when about 9 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 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 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 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | 6 ha | 9 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 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 Randfontein?
- Loggingcan grow back56% · 27 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good36% · 18 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good7.1% · 4 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
- 381 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 306 ha
- Overall change
- −75 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Randfontein shrank from about 381 hectares to 306 hectares, a net loss of about 75 hectares (−20%). New forest grew on about 39 hectares, but 114 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 Randfontein
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Krugersdorp13.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 37
- Westonaria15.9 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 38
- Roodepoort17.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 37
- Soweto18.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 37
- Randburg31.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 44
- Johannesburg34.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 44
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Frequently asked
Questions about Randfontein
What is the air quality (AQI) in Randfontein right now?
The latest reading for Randfontein shows an AQI of 52 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 11 ground-station cities within 65 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Randfontein today?
At AQI 52 (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 Randfontein been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Randfontein's daily AQI at 68 on average, from 43 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 157 on Nov 11. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Randfontein lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Randfontein in 2000, about 80 hectares, and about 49 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 Randfontein shrank from about 381 hectares to 306 hectares, a net loss of about 75 hectares (−20%). New forest grew on about 39 hectares, but 114 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Randfontein?
Randfontein has an estimated 44,611 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 14.2% tree cover, 16 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Randfontein need?
Randfontein needs roughly 49,637 more trees to close a 16-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,092 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Randfontein'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 Randfontein; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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