Malaysia · Kedah · 4 cities
Air quality in Kedah today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Kulim has the cleanest air of the 4 cities we track in Kedah (AQI 20, Good), and Kota Kuala Muda the worst (AQI 55, Moderate). Kulim has the most tree cover, at 56.6% — #9 of 56 cities measured in Malaysia.
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.
AQI 44
Average right now
Good
- cities tracked
- 4
- average tree cover
- 34.6%
- Malaysia: 38.7%
- worst air now: Kota Kuala Muda
- 55
- cleanest air now: Kulim
- 20
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous, and it reads differently from Malaysia's API (IPU). Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Kedah · average AQI 44
Air quality today across Kedah, city by city
| Kota Kuala Muda | 55Moderate | 29.1% | 2.8K | #34 of 56 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sungai Petani | 52Moderate | 29.0% | 3.1K | #36 of 56 |
| Alor Setar | 47Good | 23.6% | 19.8K | #42 of 56 |
| Kulim | 20Good | 56.6% | — | #9 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 Malaysia.
Is this the same as Malaysia's API (IPU)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Malaysia's Department of Environment (Jabatan Alam Sekitar) publishes its own Air Pollutant Index, the API or Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU), every hour for each of its monitoring stations on APIMS (apims.doe.gov.my). Both scales call 0–50 good and 51–100 moderate; above that the IPU runs 101–200 unhealthy, 201–300 very unhealthy and over 300 hazardous. The two use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the numbers for the same hour often differ. For the official IPU reading, check the nearest station on APIMS.
Malaysia's API (IPU) and the AQI, explainedDeforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kedah lost?
Since 2001, Kedah has lost about 229,000 hectares of forest (about 2,300 km²): 35% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 229,000 haabout 2,300 km²
- Share of its forest
- 35%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 208,000 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 | 3,580 ha | 79 ha | 3,660 ha |
| 2002 | 9,570 ha | 380 ha | 9,950 ha |
| 2003 | 4,330 ha | 109 ha | 4,440 ha |
| 2004 | 6,920 ha | 147 ha | 7,070 ha |
| 2005 | 7,220 ha | 309 ha | 7,530 ha |
| 2006 | 7,820 ha | 339 ha | 8,160 ha |
| 2007 | 5,590 ha | 418 ha | 6,010 ha |
| 2008 | 9,050 ha | 678 ha | 9,730 ha |
| 2009 | 7,740 ha | 526 ha | 8,270 ha |
| 2010 | 12,300 ha | 638 ha | 12,900 ha |
| 2011 | 6,770 ha | 792 ha | 7,560 ha |
| 2012 | 7,720 ha | 1,070 ha | 8,780 ha |
| 2013 | 6,900 ha | 371 ha | 7,270 ha |
| 2014 | 14,400 ha | 1,240 ha | 15,600 ha |
| 2015 | 12,100 ha | 1,260 ha | 13,400 ha |
| 2016 | 12,300 ha | 2,400 ha | 14,700 ha |
| 2017 | 12,800 ha | 3,180 ha | 16,000 ha |
| 2018 | 12,500 ha | 1,140 ha | 13,600 ha |
| 2019 | 10,700 ha | 935 ha | 11,600 ha |
| 2020 | 7,970 ha | 725 ha | 8,700 ha |
| 2021 | 6,840 ha | 580 ha | 7,420 ha |
| 2022 | 4,960 ha | 646 ha | 5,600 ha |
| 2023 | 6,420 ha | 846 ha | 7,260 ha |
| 2024 | 5,870 ha | 943 ha | 6,820 ha |
| 2025 | 5,590 ha | 1,010 ha | 6,610 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 6,740 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 12,900 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 16,000 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Kedah?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good87% · 200,000 ha
- Loggingcan grow back7.4% · 17,000 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good3.1% · 7,110 ha
Also: shifting farming, mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, 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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