City report · Guangdong, China
Shaoguan Air quality today
Air quality in Shaoguan currently reads AQI 109 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 109
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 38.7
- tree cover
- 27.7%
- trees in this area
- 71.2K
- more trees needed
- 18.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Wujiang District, Shaoguan, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 20, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Shaoguan · AQI 109 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Shaoguan's tree count comes to 71,184 trees across 10.28 km² of land, 7 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 18,760 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Shaoguan today: AQI 109, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 23:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Forest area, Shaoguan (韶关园林处), 1.6 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
38.7
PM10
52.9
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Shaoguan's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 51 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 134 on Nov 5.
Where Shaoguan stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Shaoguan: Below target
27.7% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.28 km² of land.
Trees in this area
71,184
Target trees
89,944
More trees needed
18,760
CO₂ if planted / yr
412.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Shaoguan lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Shaoguan has lost about 3,620 hectares of forest (about 5,100 football pitches): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 858 hectares (24%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from November 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 3,620 haabout 5,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 39%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 858 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 260 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 163 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2024, when about 373 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 | 3 ha | 31 ha | 34 ha |
| 2002 | 11 ha | 9 ha | 20 ha |
| 2003 | 6 ha | 16 ha | 23 ha |
| 2004 | 24 ha | 61 ha | 85 ha |
| 2005 | 11 ha | 16 ha | 27 ha |
| 2006 | 34 ha | 61 ha | 96 ha |
| 2007 | 113 ha | 122 ha | 235 ha |
| 2008 | 43 ha | 87 ha | 130 ha |
| 2009 | 30 ha | 70 ha | 99 ha |
| 2010 | 28 ha | 46 ha | 74 ha |
| 2011 | 23 ha | 25 ha | 47 ha |
| 2012 | 56 ha | 103 ha | 159 ha |
| 2013 | 33 ha | 112 ha | 145 ha |
| 2014 | 45 ha | 170 ha | 214 ha |
| 2015 | 22 ha | 89 ha | 111 ha |
| 2016 | 32 ha | 164 ha | 196 ha |
| 2017 | 46 ha | 125 ha | 171 ha |
| 2018 | 61 ha | 183 ha | 244 ha |
| 2019 | 9 ha | 120 ha | 129 ha |
| 2020 | 3 ha | 72 ha | 75 ha |
| 2021 | 5 ha | 96 ha | 101 ha |
| 2022 | 24 ha | 203 ha | 227 ha |
| 2023 | 78 ha | 272 ha | 350 ha |
| 2024 | 48 ha | 325 ha | 373 ha |
| 2025 | 70 ha | 180 ha | 250 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Shaoguan?
- Loggingcan grow back76% · 2,750 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good22% · 789 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1% · 38 ha
Also: 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
- 15,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 14,100 ha
- Overall change
- −1,200 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Shaoguan shrank from about 15,300 hectares to 14,100 hectares, a net loss of about 1,200 hectares (−7.8%). New forest grew on about 704 hectares, but 1,900 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Shaoguan
What is the air quality (AQI) in Shaoguan right now?
The latest reading for Shaoguan shows an AQI of 109 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Forest area, Shaoguan (韶关园林处), 1.6 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Shaoguan today?
At AQI 109 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Shaoguan been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Shaoguan's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 51 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 134 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 Shaoguan lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Shaoguan has lost about 3,620 hectares of forest (about 5,100 football pitches): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 858 hectares (24%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is speeding up: about 260 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 163 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Shaoguan shrank from about 15,300 hectares to 14,100 hectares, a net loss of about 1,200 hectares (−7.8%). New forest grew on about 704 hectares, but 1,900 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Shaoguan?
Shaoguan has an estimated 71,184 trees across the 10.28 km² of land measured — 27.7% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Shaoguan need?
Shaoguan needs roughly 18,760 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 412.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Shaoguan's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Wujiang District, 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 Wujiang District; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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