Australia · Victoria · 4 cities
Air quality in Victoria today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Ballarat has the cleanest air of the 4 cities we track in Victoria (AQI 5, Good), and Geelong the worst (AQI 17, Good). Ballarat has the most tree cover, at 24.8% — #10 of 21 cities measured in Australia.
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 12
Average right now
Good
- cities tracked
- 4
- average tree cover
- 20.5%
- Australia: 26.4%
- worst air now: Geelong
- 17
- cleanest air now: Ballarat
- 5
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Victoria · average AQI 12
Air quality today across Victoria, city by city
| Melbourne | 17Good | 20.2% | 29.5K | #13 of 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geelong | 17Good | 13.3% | 39.0K | #20 of 21 |
| Ballarat | 5Good | 24.8% | 15.6K | #10 of 21 |
| Bendigo | 7Good | 23.8% | 19.4K | #11 of 21 |
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 Australia.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Victoria lost?
Since 2001, Victoria has lost about 1.76 million hectares of forest (about 18,000 km²): 28% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 38,700 hectares (2.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.76 million haabout 18,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 28%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 38,700 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 | 977 ha | 18,500 ha | 19,500 ha |
| 2002 | 989 ha | 21,900 ha | 22,900 ha |
| 2003 | 2,410 ha | 78,900 ha | 81,300 ha |
| 2004 | 1,340 ha | 15,300 ha | 16,700 ha |
| 2005 | 1,470 ha | 22,000 ha | 23,400 ha |
| 2006 | 1,480 ha | 24,100 ha | 25,600 ha |
| 2007 | 2,660 ha | 82,900 ha | 85,500 ha |
| 2008 | 1,030 ha | 17,100 ha | 18,200 ha |
| 2009 | 4,130 ha | 87,800 ha | 91,900 ha |
| 2010 | 1,430 ha | 17,200 ha | 18,600 ha |
| 2011 | 1,520 ha | 20,000 ha | 21,500 ha |
| 2012 | 3,140 ha | 23,100 ha | 26,200 ha |
| 2013 | 1,240 ha | 47,300 ha | 48,500 ha |
| 2014 | 1,960 ha | 89,400 ha | 91,400 ha |
| 2015 | 1,040 ha | 32,400 ha | 33,500 ha |
| 2016 | 3,980 ha | 66,900 ha | 70,900 ha |
| 2017 | 1,490 ha | 32,800 ha | 34,300 ha |
| 2018 | 716 ha | 24,500 ha | 25,200 ha |
| 2019 | 1,020 ha | 184,000 ha | 185,000 ha |
| 2020 | 749 ha | 632,000 ha | 632,000 ha |
| 2021 | 572 ha | 28,300 ha | 28,900 ha |
| 2022 | 496 ha | 12,700 ha | 13,200 ha |
| 2023 | 288 ha | 12,000 ha | 12,300 ha |
| 2024 | 404 ha | 18,300 ha | 18,700 ha |
| 2025 | 2,180 ha | 117,000 ha | 119,000 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 38,400 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 190,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2020, when about 632,000 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
What is causing deforestation in Victoria?
- Wildfirescan grow back76% · 1.34 million ha
- Loggingcan grow back20% · 352,000 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.8% · 31,400 ha
Also: 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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