City report · North Sumatra, Indonesia
Tanjungbalai Air quality today
Air quality in Tanjungbalai currently reads AQI 59 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 59
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 17.1
- tree cover
- 36.1%
- trees in this area
- 102K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Tanjung Balai, Tanjung Balai City, North Sumatra, Indonesia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Tanjungbalai · AQI 59 (Moderate)
Tanjungbalai's tree count comes to 102,184 trees across 11.33 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Tanjungbalai today: AQI 59, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 17 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 17 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Kecamatan Perbaungan and Kecamatan Beringin
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
17.1
PM10
21.9
NO₂
9.0
O₃
74.0
SO₂
4.1
CO
489.0
- 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 Tanjungbalai's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 73 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 150 on Nov 7.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Indonesia's ISPU
Where Tanjungbalai stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Tanjungbalai: Healthy tree cover
36.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.33 km² of land.
Trees in this area
102,184
Target trees
102,184
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tanjungbalai lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tanjungbalai has lost about 4,940 hectares of forest (about 6,900 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from April 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 4,940 haabout 6,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 19%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 4,890 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 172 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 178 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2009, when about 455 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 | 210 ha | 1 ha | 211 ha |
| 2002 | 44 ha | under 1 ha | 44 ha |
| 2003 | 37 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2004 | 285 ha | 5 ha | 290 ha |
| 2005 | 150 ha | under 1 ha | 150 ha |
| 2006 | 199 ha | 2 ha | 201 ha |
| 2007 | 253 ha | 2 ha | 255 ha |
| 2008 | 83 ha | under 1 ha | 83 ha |
| 2009 | 451 ha | 4 ha | 455 ha |
| 2010 | 411 ha | 2 ha | 413 ha |
| 2011 | 328 ha | 2 ha | 330 ha |
| 2012 | 270 ha | 5 ha | 275 ha |
| 2013 | 44 ha | under 1 ha | 44 ha |
| 2014 | 285 ha | 1 ha | 286 ha |
| 2015 | 112 ha | under 1 ha | 112 ha |
| 2016 | 177 ha | 2 ha | 179 ha |
| 2017 | 206 ha | 5 ha | 211 ha |
| 2018 | 190 ha | 7 ha | 197 ha |
| 2019 | 197 ha | 3 ha | 200 ha |
| 2020 | 100 ha | 4 ha | 104 ha |
| 2021 | 164 ha | 1 ha | 165 ha |
| 2022 | 92 ha | under 1 ha | 93 ha |
| 2023 | 107 ha | under 1 ha | 107 ha |
| 2024 | 317 ha | 1 ha | 318 ha |
| 2025 | 175 ha | 4 ha | 179 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Tanjungbalai?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good92% · 4,570 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good6.5% · 320 ha
Also: logging, wildfires, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 23,100 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 24,500 ha
- Overall change
- +1,390 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tanjungbalai grew from about 23,100 hectares to 24,500 hectares, a net gain of about 1,390 hectares (+6%). New forest grew on about 3,000 hectares, while 1,610 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 Tanjungbalai
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Kisaran20.6 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 61%
- Air quality
- 64
- Pematangsiantar81.2 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 52
- Tebingtinggi81.4 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 61
- Rantauprapat96.4 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 47%
- Air quality
- 26
- Perbaungan115.1 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 54%
- Air quality
- 166
- Percut127.1 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 166
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Frequently asked
Questions about Tanjungbalai
What is the air quality (AQI) in Tanjungbalai right now?
The latest reading for Tanjungbalai shows an AQI of 59 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 17 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Tanjungbalai today?
At AQI 59 (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 Tanjungbalai been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tanjungbalai's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 73 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 150 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Tanjungbalai's AQI the same as Indonesia's ISPU?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Indonesia's official index is the ISPU (Indeks Standar Pencemar Udara), published by the environment ministry from its own monitoring stations. Its bands are 0–50 Baik (good), 51–100 Sedang (moderate), 101–200 Tidak Sehat (unhealthy), 201–300 Sangat Tidak Sehat (very unhealthy) and over 300 Berbahaya (hazardous). The two indexes use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the same air can score differently on each.
How much forest has the area around Tanjungbalai lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tanjungbalai has lost about 4,940 hectares of forest (about 6,900 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 172 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 178 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tanjungbalai grew from about 23,100 hectares to 24,500 hectares, a net gain of about 1,390 hectares (+6%). New forest grew on about 3,000 hectares, while 1,610 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Tanjungbalai?
Tanjungbalai has an estimated 102,184 trees across the 11.33 km² of land measured — 36.1% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Tanjungbalai need?
Tanjungbalai has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Tanjungbalai'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 Tanjung Balai; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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