City report · Tamil Nadu, India
Thanjavur Air quality today
Air quality in Thanjavur currently reads AQI 161 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Air quality right now
AQI 161
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 66.2
- tree cover
- 33.6%
- trees in this area
- 105K
- more trees needed
- 20.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Attar Mohalla, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu 613001, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 1, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Thanjavur · AQI 161 (Unhealthy)
Thanjavur's tree count comes to 105,452 trees across 12.56 km² of land, 6 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 20,086 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Thanjavur today: AQI 161, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 03:30 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. Cuddalore and Puducherry
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
66.2
PM10
39.8
NO₂
10.0
O₃
76.0
SO₂
19.9
CO
372.0
- 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 Thanjavur's daily AQI at 75 on average, from 49 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 124 on Nov 10.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Thanjavur stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Thanjavur: Below target
33.6% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
105,452
Target trees
125,538
More trees needed
20,086
CO₂ if planted / yr
441.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Thanjavur lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Thanjavur has lost about 27 hectares of forest (about 38 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (55%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from April 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 27 haabout 38 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 12%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 15 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2002, when about 10 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 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2002 | 6 ha | 4 ha | 10 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Thanjavur?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good50% · 14 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good4.4% · 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown44% · 12 ha
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
- 2,330 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,710 ha
- Overall change
- +382 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Thanjavur grew from about 2,330 hectares to 2,710 hectares, a net gain of about 382 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 410 hectares, while 28 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 Thanjavur
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Kumbakonam33.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 161
- Tiruchirappalli48.5 km
India
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 170
- Pudukkottai56.8 km
India
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 163
- Nagapattinam76.9 km
India
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 88
- Kāraikkudi89.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 139
- Neyveli99.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 70%
- Air quality
- 155
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Frequently asked
Questions about Thanjavur
What is the air quality (AQI) in Thanjavur right now?
The latest reading for Thanjavur shows an AQI of 161 (Unhealthy), observed Nov 11, 03:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Thanjavur today?
At AQI 161 (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 Thanjavur been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Thanjavur's daily AQI at 75 on average, from 49 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 124 on Nov 10. On 2 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Thanjavur's AQI the same as India's AQI (CPCB)?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) publishes the National Air Quality Index on its own scale: 0–50 good, 51–100 satisfactory, 101–200 moderate, 201–300 poor, 301–400 very poor and 401–500 severe. The two scales don't line up. At moderate fine-particle levels the US scale reads higher: 55 µg/m³ of PM2.5 is 149 on the US AQI but about 92, "satisfactory", on India's. In heavy smog India's reads higher: 100 µg/m³ is 182 on the US AQI and about 232, "poor", on India's. CPCB also averages particles over 24 hours, so its figure moves more slowly than an hourly reading.
How much forest has the area around Thanjavur lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Thanjavur has lost about 27 hectares of forest (about 38 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (55%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Thanjavur grew from about 2,330 hectares to 2,710 hectares, a net gain of about 382 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 410 hectares, while 28 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Thanjavur?
Thanjavur has an estimated 105,452 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 33.6% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Thanjavur need?
Thanjavur needs roughly 20,086 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 441.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Thanjavur'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 Attar Mohalla; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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