Indonesia · North Sumatra · 12 cities
Air quality in North Sumatra today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Padangsidempuan has the cleanest air of the 12 cities we track in North Sumatra (AQI 11, Good), and Perbaungan the worst (AQI 154, Unhealthy). Gunungsitoli has the most tree cover, at 64.3% — #2 of 155 cities measured in Indonesia.
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 75
Average right now
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 12
- average tree cover
- 42.3%
- Indonesia: 28.0%
- worst air now: Perbaungan
- 154
- cleanest air now: Padangsidempuan
- 11
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous, and it reads differently from Indonesia's ISPU. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
North Sumatra · average AQI 75
Air quality today across North Sumatra, city by city
| Medan | 154Unhealthy | 15.7% | 76.3K | #123 of 155 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percut | 154Unhealthy | 30.2% | 30.8K | #52 of 155 |
| Binjai | 55Moderate | 50.2% | — | #15 of 155 |
| Pematangsiantar | 39Good | 23.9% | 19.1K | #88 of 155 |
| Padangsidempuan | 11Good | 52.5% | — | #11 of 155 |
| Tanjungbalai | 55Moderate | 36.1% | — | #39 of 155 |
| Perbaungan | 154Unhealthy | 54.4% | — | #8 of 155 |
| Kisaran | 58Moderate | 61.4% | — | #4 of 155 |
| Gunungsitoli | 16Good | 64.3% | — | #2 of 155 |
| Tebingtinggi | 53Moderate | 35.0% | — | #41 of 155 |
| Rantauprapat | 27Good | 46.5% | — | #19 of 155 |
| Belawan | 125Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 37.7% | — | #37 of 155 |
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 Indonesia.
Is this the same as Indonesia's ISPU?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Indonesia's official index is the ISPU (Indeks Standar Pencemar Udara), published by the environment ministry from its own monitoring stations. Its bands are 0–50 Baik (good), 51–100 Sedang (moderate), 101–200 Tidak Sehat (unhealthy), 201–300 Sangat Tidak Sehat (very unhealthy) and over 300 Berbahaya (hazardous). The two indexes use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the same air can score differently on each.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has North Sumatra lost?
Since 2001, North Sumatra has lost about 1.72 million hectares of forest (about 17,000 km²): 29% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.72 million haabout 17,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 29%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1.44 million 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 | 47,200 ha | 6,860 ha | 54,000 ha |
| 2002 | 33,100 ha | 6,670 ha | 39,800 ha |
| 2003 | 33,300 ha | 4,990 ha | 38,200 ha |
| 2004 | 66,400 ha | 8,120 ha | 74,500 ha |
| 2005 | 68,300 ha | 7,690 ha | 76,000 ha |
| 2006 | 58,400 ha | 9,890 ha | 68,300 ha |
| 2007 | 45,100 ha | 8,320 ha | 53,500 ha |
| 2008 | 51,100 ha | 15,800 ha | 66,900 ha |
| 2009 | 96,000 ha | 21,100 ha | 117,000 ha |
| 2010 | 81,700 ha | 14,500 ha | 96,300 ha |
| 2011 | 85,700 ha | 15,700 ha | 101,000 ha |
| 2012 | 74,900 ha | 16,000 ha | 90,900 ha |
| 2013 | 44,400 ha | 10,000 ha | 54,400 ha |
| 2014 | 68,700 ha | 18,300 ha | 86,900 ha |
| 2015 | 44,300 ha | 9,560 ha | 53,900 ha |
| 2016 | 65,200 ha | 15,400 ha | 80,600 ha |
| 2017 | 60,300 ha | 15,100 ha | 75,400 ha |
| 2018 | 58,200 ha | 9,240 ha | 67,500 ha |
| 2019 | 45,800 ha | 6,850 ha | 52,600 ha |
| 2020 | 45,100 ha | 6,300 ha | 51,400 ha |
| 2021 | 52,100 ha | 7,100 ha | 59,200 ha |
| 2022 | 43,000 ha | 7,260 ha | 50,300 ha |
| 2023 | 56,800 ha | 9,270 ha | 66,000 ha |
| 2024 | 56,900 ha | 8,890 ha | 65,700 ha |
| 2025 | 58,900 ha | 17,700 ha | 76,600 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 63,600 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 65,500 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2009, when about 117,000 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in North Sumatra?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good83% · 1.43 million ha
- Loggingcan grow back8.7% · 149,000 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back6.1% · 104,000 ha
Also: wildfires, storms, floods and other natural causes, towns and roads, mining and energy, 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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