City report · New Zealand
Tauranga Air quality today
Air quality in Tauranga currently reads AQI 23 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 23
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.8
- tree cover
- 23.3%
- trees in this area
- 33.2K
- more trees needed
- 9.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Tauranga 3110, New Zealand (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Dec 10, 2025. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Tauranga · AQI 23 (Good)
Tauranga's tree count comes to 33,159 trees across 5.69 km² of land, 7 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 9,535 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Tauranga today: AQI 23, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 13:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 165 km, e.g. Auckland and Auckland
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.8
PM10
3.3
NO₂
0.4
O₃
54.0
SO₂
0.4
CO
88.0
- 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 Tauranga's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 12 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 42 on Nov 10.
Where Tauranga stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Tauranga: Below target
23.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 5.69 km² of land.
Trees in this area
33,159
Target trees
42,694
More trees needed
9,535
CO₂ if planted / yr
209.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tauranga lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tauranga has lost about 1,310 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 35% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 261 hectares (20%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2019: satellite photo from March 2019 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,310 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 35%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 261 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 49 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 78 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 107 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 | 5 ha | 52 ha | 57 ha |
| 2002 | 8 ha | 19 ha | 27 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2004 | 18 ha | 12 ha | 30 ha |
| 2005 | 21 ha | 4 ha | 25 ha |
| 2006 | 37 ha | 10 ha | 47 ha |
| 2007 | 12 ha | 45 ha | 57 ha |
| 2008 | 7 ha | 10 ha | 17 ha |
| 2009 | 7 ha | 64 ha | 71 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | 14 ha | 19 ha |
| 2011 | 3 ha | 63 ha | 67 ha |
| 2012 | 19 ha | 34 ha | 53 ha |
| 2013 | 15 ha | 64 ha | 79 ha |
| 2014 | 9 ha | 27 ha | 36 ha |
| 2015 | 15 ha | 72 ha | 87 ha |
| 2016 | 12 ha | 40 ha | 52 ha |
| 2017 | 7 ha | 100 ha | 107 ha |
| 2018 | 10 ha | 70 ha | 80 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | 86 ha | 88 ha |
| 2020 | 9 ha | 54 ha | 63 ha |
| 2021 | 7 ha | 22 ha | 29 ha |
| 2022 | 10 ha | 22 ha | 32 ha |
| 2023 | 4 ha | 62 ha | 66 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | 61 ha | 64 ha |
| 2025 | 10 ha | 46 ha | 56 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Tauranga?
- Loggingcan grow back79% · 1,040 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good11% · 148 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.6% · 113 ha
Also: 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
- 2,510 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,590 ha
- Overall change
- +78 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tauranga grew from about 2,510 hectares to 2,590 hectares, a net gain of about 78 hectares (+3.1%). New forest grew on about 626 hectares, while 548 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 Tauranga
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Manukau City137.4 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 57
- Auckland155.2 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 52
- Lower Hutt407.0 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 23
- Wellington417.8 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 24
- Christchurch715.1 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 21
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Frequently asked
Questions about Tauranga
What is the air quality (AQI) in Tauranga right now?
The latest reading for Tauranga shows an AQI of 23 (Good), observed Nov 11, 13:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Tauranga today?
At AQI 23 (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 Tauranga been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tauranga's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 12 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 42 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Tauranga lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tauranga has lost about 1,310 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 35% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 261 hectares (20%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 49 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 78 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tauranga grew from about 2,510 hectares to 2,590 hectares, a net gain of about 78 hectares (+3.1%). New forest grew on about 626 hectares, while 548 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Tauranga?
Tauranga has an estimated 33,159 trees across the 5.69 km² of land measured — 23.3% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Tauranga need?
Tauranga needs roughly 9,535 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 209.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Tauranga'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 Tauranga 3110; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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