City report · Gauteng, South Africa
Soshanguve Air quality today
Air quality in Soshanguve currently reads AQI 190 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
AQI 190
Air quality right now
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 21.5
- tree cover
- 3.1%
- trees in this area
- 9.7K
- more trees needed
- 116K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Soshanguve - FF, Soshanguve, 0152, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Soshanguve · AQI 190 (Unhealthy)
Soshanguve's tree count comes to 9,739 trees across 12.57 km², 37 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 115,925 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Soshanguve today: AQI 190, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: Ozone · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · PTA-NORTH, 23.9 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
21.5
PM10
—
NO₂
1.0
O₃
198.8
SO₂
—
CO
301.3
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, South Africa, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS)
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it
- Windows
- Keep them closed
- Mask
- Wear an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Soshanguve's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 39 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 100 on Nov 4.
Where Soshanguve stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Soshanguve: Critically low
3.1% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
9,739
Target trees
125,664
More trees needed
115,925
CO₂ if planted / yr
2,550 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Soshanguve lost?
There was almost no forest around Soshanguve in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2018: satellite photo from August 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 108 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 121 ha
- Overall change
- +13 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Soshanguve grew from about 108 hectares to 121 hectares, a net gain of about 13 hectares (+12%). New forest grew on about 19 hectares, while 6 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 Soshanguve
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Hammanskraal20.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 76
- Pretoria31.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 75
- Brits36.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 44
- Centurion43.8 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 58
- Thembisa59.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 2%
- Air quality
- 58
- Randburg69.8 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 44
Build your own
Compare Soshanguve with anywhere
This place
Soshanguve
Use this data
Put Soshanguve's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Soshanguve
What is the air quality (AQI) in Soshanguve right now?
The latest reading for Soshanguve shows an AQI of 190 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is PTA-NORTH, 23.9 km away). The main pollutant is Ozone. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Soshanguve today?
At AQI 190 (Unhealthy): everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it. Windows: keep them closed. Masks: wear an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Soshanguve been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Soshanguve's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 39 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 100 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Soshanguve lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Soshanguve in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Soshanguve grew from about 108 hectares to 121 hectares, a net gain of about 13 hectares (+12%). New forest grew on about 19 hectares, while 6 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Soshanguve?
Soshanguve has an estimated 9,739 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 3.1% tree cover, 37 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Soshanguve need?
Soshanguve needs roughly 115,925 more trees to close a 37-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 2,550 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Soshanguve's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Soshanguve - FF, 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 Soshanguve - FF; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address