South Korea · Gwangju · 2 cities
Air quality in Gwangju today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Masan has the cleanest air of the 2 cities we track in Gwangju (AQI 69, Moderate), and Gwangju the worst (AQI 70, Moderate). Masan has the most tree cover, at 20.4% — #35 of 56 cities measured in South Korea.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
- cities tracked
- 2
- average tree cover
- 13.6%
- South Korea: 28.4%
- worst air now: Gwangju
- 70
- cleanest air now: Masan
- 69
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Gwangju
Air quality today across Gwangju, city by city
| Gwangju | 70Moderate | 6.7% | 73.1K | #54 of 56 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masan | 69Moderate | 20.4% | 30.0K | #35 of 56 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in South Korea.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Gwangju lost?
Since 2001, Gwangju has lost about 87 hectares of forest (about 120 football pitches): 2.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 87 haabout 120 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 53 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
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 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 5 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2006 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2009 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2012 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2013 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2014 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 13 ha | 13 ha |
| 2017 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
The worst year was 2016, when about 13 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Gwangju?
- Towns and roadscleared for good60% · 53 ha
- Loggingcan grow back35% · 30 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown4.5% · 4 ha
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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