Japan · Hokkaido · 9 cities
Air quality in Hokkaido today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Obihiro has the cleanest air of the 9 cities we track in Hokkaido (AQI 23, Good), and Tomakomai the worst (AQI 51, Moderate). Otaru has the most tree cover, at 31.7% — #30 of 207 cities measured in Japan.
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.
Average right now
AQI 25
Good
- cities tracked
- 9
- average tree cover
- 12.6%
- Japan: 16.4%
- worst air now: Tomakomai
- 51
- cleanest air now: Obihiro
- 23
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Hokkaido · average AQI 25
Air quality today across Hokkaido, city by city
| Sapporo | 31Good | 10.1% | 62.2K | #123 of 207 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asahikawa | 13Good | 11.4% | 58.2K | #106 of 207 |
| Hakodate | 6Good | 3.8% | 52.0K | #189 of 207 |
| Tomakomai | 51Moderate | 10.8% | 50.2K | #114 of 207 |
| Kushiro | 13Good | 8.7% | 28.7K | #136 of 207 |
| Obihiro | 23Good | 9.6% | 64.0K | #126 of 207 |
| Ebetsu | 15Good | 17.3% | 36.7K | #70 of 207 |
| Kitami | 23Good | 10.3% | 61.8K | #120 of 207 |
| Otaru | 46Good | 31.7% | — | #30 of 207 |
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 Japan.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Hokkaido lost?
Since 2001, Hokkaido has lost about 217,000 hectares of forest (about 2,200 km²): 3.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 10,100 hectares (4.6%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 217,000 haabout 2,200 km²
- Share of its forest
- 3.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 10,100 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 | 116 ha | 2,000 ha | 2,120 ha |
| 2002 | 209 ha | 3,690 ha | 3,900 ha |
| 2003 | 126 ha | 3,280 ha | 3,410 ha |
| 2004 | 474 ha | 8,090 ha | 8,560 ha |
| 2005 | 358 ha | 9,700 ha | 10,100 ha |
| 2006 | 480 ha | 10,900 ha | 11,400 ha |
| 2007 | 526 ha | 11,800 ha | 12,300 ha |
| 2008 | 468 ha | 10,400 ha | 10,900 ha |
| 2009 | 374 ha | 8,900 ha | 9,280 ha |
| 2010 | 434 ha | 7,250 ha | 7,690 ha |
| 2011 | 348 ha | 7,990 ha | 8,340 ha |
| 2012 | 586 ha | 9,590 ha | 10,200 ha |
| 2013 | 227 ha | 4,470 ha | 4,700 ha |
| 2014 | 398 ha | 6,440 ha | 6,840 ha |
| 2015 | 367 ha | 6,340 ha | 6,700 ha |
| 2016 | 731 ha | 11,700 ha | 12,500 ha |
| 2017 | 1,100 ha | 10,200 ha | 11,300 ha |
| 2018 | 378 ha | 8,820 ha | 9,200 ha |
| 2019 | 903 ha | 9,650 ha | 10,600 ha |
| 2020 | 253 ha | 9,000 ha | 9,250 ha |
| 2021 | 218 ha | 9,240 ha | 9,460 ha |
| 2022 | 227 ha | 9,390 ha | 9,620 ha |
| 2023 | 279 ha | 10,200 ha | 10,400 ha |
| 2024 | 267 ha | 9,500 ha | 9,770 ha |
| 2025 | 216 ha | 8,840 ha | 9,060 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 9,670 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 10,500 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 12,500 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Hokkaido?
- Loggingcan grow back93% · 203,000 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.6% · 5,590 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good1.1% · 2,460 ha
Also: towns and roads, storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, shifting farming, unknown causes.
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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