City report · Sabah, Malaysia
Tawau Air quality today
Air quality in Tawau currently reads AQI 67 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 67
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 17.8
- tree cover
- 23.9%
- trees in this area
- 42.3K
- more trees needed
- 10.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bandar Tawau, 91000 Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 13, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Tawau · AQI 67 (Moderate)
Tawau's tree count comes to 42,272 trees across 7.08 km² of land, 6 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 10,789 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Tawau today: AQI 67, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 00:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia, 5 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
17.8
PM10
31.3
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System
- 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 Tawau's daily AQI at 38 on average, from 30 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 71 on Nov 5.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Malaysia's API (IPU) · The full guide
Where Tawau stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Tawau: Below target
23.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 7.08 km² of land.
Trees in this area
42,272
Target trees
53,061
More trees needed
10,789
CO₂ if planted / yr
237.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tawau lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tawau has lost about 2,570 hectares of forest (about 3,600 football pitches): 31% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2018: satellite photo from August 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,570 haabout 3,600 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 31%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 2,560 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 85 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 65 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2004, when about 245 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 | 110 ha | under 1 ha | 110 ha |
| 2002 | 114 ha | 4 ha | 118 ha |
| 2003 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2004 | 245 ha | under 1 ha | 245 ha |
| 2005 | 190 ha | under 1 ha | 190 ha |
| 2006 | 91 ha | under 1 ha | 91 ha |
| 2007 | 108 ha | under 1 ha | 108 ha |
| 2008 | 140 ha | under 1 ha | 140 ha |
| 2009 | 92 ha | under 1 ha | 92 ha |
| 2010 | 210 ha | under 1 ha | 210 ha |
| 2011 | 210 ha | under 1 ha | 210 ha |
| 2012 | 70 ha | under 1 ha | 70 ha |
| 2013 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2014 | 88 ha | under 1 ha | 88 ha |
| 2015 | 85 ha | under 1 ha | 85 ha |
| 2016 | 118 ha | under 1 ha | 118 ha |
| 2017 | 97 ha | under 1 ha | 97 ha |
| 2018 | 43 ha | under 1 ha | 43 ha |
| 2019 | 42 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2020 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2021 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2022 | 43 ha | under 1 ha | 43 ha |
| 2023 | 65 ha | under 1 ha | 65 ha |
| 2024 | 147 ha | 2 ha | 149 ha |
| 2025 | 141 ha | under 1 ha | 141 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Tawau?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good90% · 2,320 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good9.4% · 242 ha
Also: 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
- 9,840 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,530 ha
- Overall change
- −310 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tawau shrank from about 9,840 hectares to 9,530 hectares, a net loss of about 310 hectares (−3.2%). New forest grew on about 393 hectares, but 704 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 Tawau
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Lahad Datu99.2 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 46%
- Air quality
- 31
- Tarakan108.8 km
Indonesia
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 12
- Sandakan179.2 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 69%
- Air quality
- 37
- Kota Kinabalu278.5 km
Malaysia
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 40
- Bandar Seri Begawan334.9 km
Brunei
- Tree cover
- 56%
- Air quality
- 27
- Tutong364.7 km
Brunei
- Tree cover
- 62%
- Air quality
- 65
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Frequently asked
Questions about Tawau
What is the air quality (AQI) in Tawau right now?
The latest reading for Tawau shows an AQI of 67 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 00:00 local time by the Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia ground monitoring station, 5 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Tawau today?
At AQI 67 (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 Tawau been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tawau's daily AQI at 38 on average, from 30 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 71 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Tawau's AQI the same as Malaysia's API (IPU)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Malaysia's Department of Environment (Jabatan Alam Sekitar) publishes its own Air Pollutant Index, the API or Indeks Pencemar Udara (IPU), every hour for each of its monitoring stations on APIMS (apims.doe.gov.my). Both scales call 0–50 good and 51–100 moderate; above that the IPU runs 101–200 unhealthy, 201–300 very unhealthy and over 300 hazardous. The two use different breakpoints and averaging times, so the numbers for the same hour often differ. For the official IPU reading, check the nearest station on APIMS.
How much forest has the area around Tawau lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tawau has lost about 2,570 hectares of forest (about 3,600 football pitches): 31% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is speeding up: about 85 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 65 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tawau shrank from about 9,840 hectares to 9,530 hectares, a net loss of about 310 hectares (−3.2%). New forest grew on about 393 hectares, but 704 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Tawau?
Tawau has an estimated 42,272 trees across the 7.08 km² of land measured — 23.9% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Tawau need?
Tawau needs roughly 10,789 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 237.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Tawau's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Bandar Tawau, 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 Bandar Tawau; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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