China · Qinghai · 5 cities
Air quality in Qinghai today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Yushu has the cleanest air of the 5 cities we track in Qinghai (AQI 22, Good), and Xining the worst (AQI 90, Moderate). Xining has the most tree cover, at 19.8% — #317 of 639 cities measured in China.
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.
Average right now
AQI 59
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 10.4%
- China: 22.9%
- worst air now: Xining
- 90
- cleanest air now: Yushu
- 22
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Qinghai · average AQI 59
Air quality today across Qinghai, city by city
| Xining | 90Moderate | 19.8% | 31.8K | #317 of 639 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nianbo | 69Moderate | 12.3% | 54.9K | #498 of 639 |
| Yushu | 22Good | 0.6% | 92.4K | #639 of 639 |
| Qiaotou | 85Moderate | 13.6% | 51.5K | #456 of 639 |
| Tongren | 27Good | 5.5% | 76.9K | #628 of 639 |
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 China.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Qinghai lost?
Since 2001, Qinghai has lost about 714 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was storms, floods and other natural causes (35%), after which forest can grow back. About 86 hectares (12%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 714 haabout 1,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 86 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 | 18 ha | 92 ha | 110 ha |
| 2002 | 11 ha | 83 ha | 93 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | 30 ha | 31 ha |
| 2004 | 8 ha | 100 ha | 108 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 51 ha | 52 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | 39 ha | 40 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | 36 ha | 39 ha |
| 2008 | 10 ha | 48 ha | 58 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | 33 ha | 35 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | 25 ha | 27 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 9 ha |
| 2012 | 5 ha | 67 ha | 72 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 8 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 20 ha | 4 ha | 24 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
The worst year was 2001, when about 110 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Qinghai?
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back35% · 251 ha
- Loggingcan grow back18% · 127 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good7.9% · 56 ha
Also: mining and energy, towns and roads, 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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