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City report · KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Richards Bay Air quality today

Air quality in Richards Bay currently reads AQI 26 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Air quality right now

AQI 26

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
4.7
tree cover
40.5%
trees in this area
101K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 2 km radius around Richards Bay, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 16, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Richards Bay · AQI 26 (Good)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Sep 16, 2026

Richards Bay's tree count comes to 101,151 trees across 9.99 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Richards Bay today: AQI 26, Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Ground station · Scorpio, 1.5 km away · median of 5 stations

Health signal

Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

PM2.5

4.7

PM10

—

NO₂

—

O₃

—

SO₂

—

CO

—

Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, RBCAA

Outdoor exercise
A good day to be active outside
Windows
Open them to air the house
Mask
Not needed
Air purifier
Not needed

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Richards Bay's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 39 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 72 on Nov 5.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 51 · peak 72
Nov 5: AQI 59 (peak 72)Nov 6: AQI 58 (peak 61)Nov 7: AQI 57 (peak 63)Nov 8: AQI 43 (peak 53)Nov 9: AQI 51 (peak 57)Nov 10: AQI 47 (peak 57)Nov 11: AQI 39 (peak 42)
Nov 5Nov 11

Where Richards Bay stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Richards Bay: Healthy tree cover

40.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.99 km² of land.

Target reached

Trees in this area

101,151

Target trees

101,151

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Richards Bay lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Richards Bay has lost about 4,370 hectares of forest (about 6,100 football pitches): 40% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 380 hectares (8.7%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.

Satellite image of the area around Richards Bay, July 2017

2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
4,370 haabout 6,100 football pitches
Share of its forest
40%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
380 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

Forest loss is slowing down: about 42 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 105 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2009, when about 524 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Richards Bay, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Richards Bay, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.524

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Richards Bay, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
200113 ha133 ha146 ha
20023 ha70 ha73 ha
20031 ha69 ha71 ha
200423 ha456 ha478 ha
20053 ha20 ha24 ha
20062 ha75 ha76 ha
200758 ha415 ha473 ha
200815 ha125 ha140 ha
200939 ha485 ha524 ha
20106 ha92 ha98 ha
201111 ha310 ha321 ha
201218 ha383 ha401 ha
201312 ha250 ha262 ha
201419 ha262 ha281 ha
201528 ha236 ha264 ha
201626 ha160 ha186 ha
201736 ha114 ha150 ha
20188 ha85 ha93 ha
20196 ha40 ha46 ha
20207 ha43 ha50 ha
202110 ha16 ha26 ha
202212 ha45 ha57 ha
20237 ha31 ha38 ha
20242 ha52 ha54 ha
202516 ha19 ha35 ha

What is causing deforestation around Richards Bay?

  • Loggingcan grow back90% · 3,940 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good4.3% · 186 ha
  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good4.2% · 185 ha

Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, mining and energy, unknown causes.

Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.

Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020

Forest in 2000
8,730 ha
Forest in 2020
8,710 ha
Overall change
−19 haless forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Richards Bay stayed about the same size, at about 8,710 hectares: new forest grew on about 883 hectares, and about 903 hectares were lost.

These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.

These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.

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. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured

In the same region

Measured cities near Richards Bay

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

  • KwaDukuza

    South Africa

    94.7 km
    Tree cover
    44%
    Air quality
    24
  • Ntuzuma

    South Africa

    149.8 km
    Tree cover
    31%
    Air quality
    68
  • Durban

    South Africa

    154.4 km
    Tree cover
    8%
    Air quality
    68
  • Pinetown

    South Africa

    160.5 km
    Tree cover
    61%
    Air quality
    68
  • Vryheid

    South Africa

    166.1 km
    Tree cover
    33%
    Air quality
    21
  • Mpumalanga

    South Africa

    177.7 km
    Tree cover
    24%
    Air quality
    101

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Richards Bay air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about Richards Bay

What is the air quality (AQI) in Richards Bay right now?

The latest reading for Richards Bay shows an AQI of 26 (Good), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 5 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Scorpio, 1.5 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Richards Bay today?

At AQI 26 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.

What has the air quality in Richards Bay been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Richards Bay's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 39 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 72 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

How much forest has the area around Richards Bay lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Richards Bay has lost about 4,370 hectares of forest (about 6,100 football pitches): 40% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 380 hectares (8.7%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 42 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 105 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Richards Bay stayed about the same size, at about 8,710 hectares: new forest grew on about 883 hectares, and about 903 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Richards Bay?

Richards Bay has an estimated 101,151 trees across the 9.99 km² of land measured — 40.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Richards Bay need?

Richards Bay has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.

How are Richards Bay's air quality and tree cover measured?

Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Richards Bay, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Richards Bay; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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