Malaysia · Perak · 5 cities
Air quality in Perak today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Taiping has the cleanest air of the 5 cities we track in Perak (AQI 31, Good), and Bercham the worst (AQI 68, Moderate). Sitiawan has the most tree cover, at 45.0% — #16 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 56
Average right now
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 31.9%
- Malaysia: 38.7%
- worst air now: Bercham
- 68
- cleanest air now: Taiping
- 31
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.
Perak · average AQI 56
Air quality today across Perak, city by city
| Ipoh | 59Moderate | 21.5% | 26.7K | #48 of 56 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teluk Intan | 58Moderate | 39.7% | — | #25 of 56 |
| Taiping | 31Good | 30.5% | — | #31 of 56 |
| Sitiawan | 66Moderate | 45.0% | — | #16 of 56 |
| Bercham | 68Moderate | 22.8% | 22.6K | #45 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 Perak lost?
Since 2001, Perak has lost about 509,000 hectares of forest (about 5,100 km²): 29% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (86%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 509,000 haabout 5,100 km²
- Share of its forest
- 29%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 436,000 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 | 14,900 ha | 1,350 ha | 16,200 ha |
| 2002 | 19,100 ha | 1,560 ha | 20,600 ha |
| 2003 | 8,010 ha | 1,430 ha | 9,450 ha |
| 2004 | 13,100 ha | 1,370 ha | 14,400 ha |
| 2005 | 17,500 ha | 2,080 ha | 19,600 ha |
| 2006 | 10,100 ha | 1,940 ha | 12,000 ha |
| 2007 | 17,100 ha | 2,540 ha | 19,700 ha |
| 2008 | 15,000 ha | 1,660 ha | 16,600 ha |
| 2009 | 25,400 ha | 4,080 ha | 29,500 ha |
| 2010 | 23,600 ha | 3,040 ha | 26,700 ha |
| 2011 | 17,000 ha | 3,950 ha | 21,000 ha |
| 2012 | 22,500 ha | 2,710 ha | 25,200 ha |
| 2013 | 16,000 ha | 1,590 ha | 17,600 ha |
| 2014 | 28,800 ha | 4,930 ha | 33,700 ha |
| 2015 | 18,900 ha | 4,860 ha | 23,800 ha |
| 2016 | 27,900 ha | 5,010 ha | 32,900 ha |
| 2017 | 25,100 ha | 5,170 ha | 30,300 ha |
| 2018 | 19,000 ha | 3,870 ha | 22,800 ha |
| 2019 | 18,800 ha | 3,480 ha | 22,300 ha |
| 2020 | 12,400 ha | 3,090 ha | 15,500 ha |
| 2021 | 15,700 ha | 3,330 ha | 19,000 ha |
| 2022 | 10,700 ha | 2,250 ha | 13,000 ha |
| 2023 | 14,800 ha | 2,800 ha | 17,600 ha |
| 2024 | 12,400 ha | 2,460 ha | 14,800 ha |
| 2025 | 11,800 ha | 2,730 ha | 14,600 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 15,800 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 24,800 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2014, when about 33,700 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Perak?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good83% · 424,000 ha
- Loggingcan grow back12% · 60,600 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back1.9% · 9,530 ha
Also: towns and roads, mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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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