Malaysia · Kuala Lumpur · 2 cities
Air quality in Kuala Lumpur today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Bukit Jalil has the cleanest air of the 2 cities we track in Kuala Lumpur (AQI 59, Moderate), and Kuala Lumpur the worst (AQI 75, Moderate). Kuala Lumpur has the most tree cover, at 44.2% — #19 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.
- cities tracked
- 2
- average tree cover
- 36.8%
- Malaysia: 38.7%
- worst air now: Kuala Lumpur
- 75
- cleanest air now: Bukit Jalil
- 59
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.
Kuala Lumpur
Air quality today across Kuala Lumpur, city by city
| Kuala Lumpur | 75Moderate | 44.2% | — | #19 of 56 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bukit Jalil | 59Moderate | 29.4% | 1.9K | #33 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 Kuala Lumpur lost?
Since 2001, Kuala Lumpur has lost about 1,200 hectares of forest (about 1,700 football pitches): 27% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,200 haabout 1,700 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 27%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,190 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 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2002 | 90 ha | under 1 ha | 90 ha |
| 2003 | 40 ha | under 1 ha | 40 ha |
| 2004 | 160 ha | under 1 ha | 160 ha |
| 2005 | 78 ha | under 1 ha | 78 ha |
| 2006 | 77 ha | under 1 ha | 77 ha |
| 2007 | 58 ha | under 1 ha | 58 ha |
| 2008 | 49 ha | under 1 ha | 50 ha |
| 2009 | 68 ha | under 1 ha | 68 ha |
| 2010 | 62 ha | under 1 ha | 62 ha |
| 2011 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2012 | 48 ha | under 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | 51 ha | under 1 ha | 51 ha |
| 2015 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2016 | 47 ha | under 1 ha | 47 ha |
| 2017 | 100 ha | under 1 ha | 100 ha |
| 2018 | 67 ha | under 1 ha | 67 ha |
| 2019 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2020 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2021 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2023 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2024 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2025 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 14 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 51 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2004, when about 160 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Kuala Lumpur?
- Towns and roadscleared for goodover 99% · 1,190 ha
Also: 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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