Japan · Okinawa · 3 cities
Air quality in Okinawa today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Naha has the cleanest air of the 3 cities we track in Okinawa (AQI 24, Good), and Okinawa the worst (AQI 39, Good). Ginowan has the most tree cover, at 27.9% — #41 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.
AQI 31
Average right now
Good
- cities tracked
- 3
- average tree cover
- 19.7%
- Japan: 16.4%
- worst air now: Okinawa
- 39
- cleanest air now: Naha
- 24
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Okinawa · average AQI 31
Air quality today across Okinawa, city by city
| Naha | 24Good | 8.4% | 54.4K | #138 of 207 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okinawa | 39Good | 22.7% | 22.9K | #46 of 207 |
| Ginowan | 29Good | 27.9% | 6.6K | #41 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 Okinawa lost?
Since 2001, Okinawa has lost about 7,790 hectares of forest (about 11,000 football pitches): 4.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (55%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 7,790 haabout 11,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 4,280 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 | 546 ha | 292 ha | 838 ha |
| 2002 | 191 ha | 119 ha | 310 ha |
| 2003 | 245 ha | 115 ha | 360 ha |
| 2004 | 280 ha | 185 ha | 465 ha |
| 2005 | 302 ha | 187 ha | 489 ha |
| 2006 | 295 ha | 192 ha | 487 ha |
| 2007 | 251 ha | 178 ha | 429 ha |
| 2008 | 414 ha | 368 ha | 782 ha |
| 2009 | 286 ha | 261 ha | 547 ha |
| 2010 | 221 ha | 212 ha | 433 ha |
| 2011 | 301 ha | 274 ha | 575 ha |
| 2012 | 148 ha | 203 ha | 351 ha |
| 2013 | 160 ha | 189 ha | 349 ha |
| 2014 | 329 ha | 214 ha | 543 ha |
| 2015 | 24 ha | 57 ha | 81 ha |
| 2016 | 18 ha | 48 ha | 65 ha |
| 2017 | 54 ha | 115 ha | 169 ha |
| 2018 | 44 ha | 60 ha | 104 ha |
| 2019 | 44 ha | 47 ha | 91 ha |
| 2020 | 17 ha | 36 ha | 53 ha |
| 2021 | 30 ha | 35 ha | 65 ha |
| 2022 | 27 ha | 48 ha | 75 ha |
| 2023 | 18 ha | 40 ha | 58 ha |
| 2024 | 15 ha | 25 ha | 40 ha |
| 2025 | 23 ha | 14 ha | 37 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 55 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 97 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2001, when about 838 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Okinawa?
- Loggingcan grow back38% · 2,930 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good33% · 2,610 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good20% · 1,560 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, 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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