City report · Queensland, Australia
Sunshine Coast Air quality today
Air quality in Sunshine Coast currently reads AQI 29 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 29
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.1
- tree cover
- 33.0%
- trees in this area
- 91.1K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Maroochydore QLD, Australia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 27, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Sunshine Coast · AQI 29 (Good)
Sunshine Coast's tree count comes to 91,128 trees across 11.05 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Sunshine Coast today: AQI 29, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 11:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.1
PM10
9.1
NO₂
0.7
O₃
61.0
SO₂
0.8
CO
97.0
- 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 Sunshine Coast's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 27 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 58 on Nov 5.
Where Sunshine Coast stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Sunshine Coast: Healthy tree cover
33.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.05 km² of land.
Trees in this area
91,128
Target trees
91,128
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sunshine Coast lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sunshine Coast has lost about 1,160 hectares of forest (about 1,600 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (73%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,160 haabout 1,600 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 14%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 851 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2013, when about 307 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 38 ha | 6 ha | 44 ha |
| 2002 | 78 ha | under 1 ha | 78 ha |
| 2003 | 39 ha | under 1 ha | 39 ha |
| 2004 | 41 ha | under 1 ha | 41 ha |
| 2005 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 33 ha |
| 2006 | 37 ha | 2 ha | 39 ha |
| 2007 | 31 ha | 3 ha | 34 ha |
| 2008 | 33 ha | 2 ha | 35 ha |
| 2009 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2010 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2011 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2012 | 40 ha | 1 ha | 41 ha |
| 2013 | 33 ha | 274 ha | 307 ha |
| 2014 | 34 ha | 4 ha | 38 ha |
| 2015 | 41 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2016 | 48 ha | under 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2017 | 62 ha | 1 ha | 63 ha |
| 2018 | 63 ha | under 1 ha | 63 ha |
| 2019 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2020 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2021 | 38 ha | 8 ha | 46 ha |
| 2022 | 24 ha | 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2023 | 8 ha | 2 ha | 10 ha |
| 2024 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2025 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Sunshine Coast?
- Towns and roadscleared for good64% · 743 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back25% · 291 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good9.3% · 108 ha
Also: logging, 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
- 9,070 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,640 ha
- Overall change
- −425 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sunshine Coast shrank from about 9,070 hectares to 8,640 hectares, a net loss of about 425 hectares (−4.7%). New forest grew on about 146 hectares, but 571 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 Sunshine Coast
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Logan City109.3 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 15
- Toowoomba150.0 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 33
- Gold Coast153.4 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 28
- Newcastle708.7 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 130
- Central Coast770.8 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 75%
- Air quality
- 59
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Frequently asked
Questions about Sunshine Coast
What is the air quality (AQI) in Sunshine Coast right now?
The latest reading for Sunshine Coast shows an AQI of 29 (Good), observed Nov 11, 11:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Sunshine Coast today?
At AQI 29 (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 Sunshine Coast been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sunshine Coast's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 27 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 58 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 Sunshine Coast lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sunshine Coast has lost about 1,160 hectares of forest (about 1,600 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (73%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sunshine Coast shrank from about 9,070 hectares to 8,640 hectares, a net loss of about 425 hectares (−4.7%). New forest grew on about 146 hectares, but 571 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Sunshine Coast?
Sunshine Coast has an estimated 91,128 trees across the 11.05 km² of land measured — 33.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Sunshine Coast need?
Sunshine Coast has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Sunshine Coast's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Maroochydore QLD; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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