City report · South Korea
Seoul Air quality today
Air quality in Seoul currently reads AQI 94 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 94
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 32.0
- tree cover
- 20.3%
- trees in this area
- 63.3K
- more trees needed
- 30.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Euljiro 1(il)-ga, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Seoul · AQI 94 (Moderate)
Seoul's tree count comes to 63,328 trees across 12.48 km² of land, 10 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 30,260 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Seoul today: AQI 94, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 00:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · 중구, 300 m away · median of 25 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
32.0
PM10
46.0
NO₂
93.3
O₃
3.1
SO₂
6.5
CO
916.5
Data: OpenAQ · Korea Air Ministry of Environment, Korea Environment Corporation · AirKorea
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Seoul's daily AQI at 76 on average, from 52 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 163 on Nov 4.
Where Seoul stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Seoul: Below target
20.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.48 km² of land.
Trees in this area
63,328
Target trees
93,588
More trees needed
30,260
CO₂ if planted / yr
665.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Seoul lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Seoul has lost about 14 hectares of forest (about 19 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (54%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 14 haabout 19 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 7 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 2 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Seoul?
- Towns and roadscleared for good53% · 7 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back4.4% · under 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown41% · 6 ha
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
- 5,670 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,870 ha
- Overall change
- +196 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Seoul grew from about 5,670 hectares to 5,870 hectares, a net gain of about 196 hectares (+3.5%). New forest grew on about 224 hectares, while 29 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 Seoul
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Guri-si14.6 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 93
- Goyang-si16.1 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 46%
- Air quality
- 91
- Bucheon-si18.8 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 96
- Anyang-si19.8 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 84
- Seongnam-si20.0 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 80
- Hanam20.2 km
South Korea
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 94
Also compared:Seoul vs BusanSeoul vs IncheonSeoul vs DaeguSeoul vs Daejeon
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Frequently asked
Questions about Seoul
What is the air quality (AQI) in Seoul right now?
The latest reading for Seoul shows an AQI of 94 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by 25 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is 중구, 300 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Seoul today?
At AQI 94 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Seoul been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Seoul's daily AQI at 76 on average, from 52 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 163 on Nov 4. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Seoul lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Seoul has lost about 14 hectares of forest (about 19 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (54%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Seoul grew from about 5,670 hectares to 5,870 hectares, a net gain of about 196 hectares (+3.5%). New forest grew on about 224 hectares, while 29 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Seoul?
Seoul has an estimated 63,328 trees across the 12.48 km² of land measured — 20.3% tree cover, 10 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Seoul need?
Seoul needs roughly 30,260 more trees to close a 10-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 665.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Seoul's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Euljiro 1(il)-ga, 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 Euljiro 1(il)-ga; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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