City report · Limpopo, South Africa
Thohoyandou Air quality today
Air quality in Thohoyandou currently reads AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 115
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 41.0
- tree cover
- 42.1%
- trees in this area
- 132K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Thohoyandou · AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Thohoyandou's tree count comes to 132,261 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Thohoyandou today: AQI 115, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Thohoyandou, 7.9 km away
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
41.0
PM10
93.0
NO₂
50.2
O₃
29.4
SO₂
—
CO
631.2
Data: OpenAQ · South Africa, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS)
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Thohoyandou's daily AQI at 45 on average, from 20 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 72 on Nov 5.
Where Thohoyandou stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Thohoyandou: Healthy tree cover
42.1% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
132,261
Target trees
132,261
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Thohoyandou lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Thohoyandou has lost about 299 hectares of forest (about 420 football pitches): 6.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (52%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 299 haabout 420 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 156 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2019, when about 53 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2010 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | 6 ha | 9 ha |
| 2014 | 12 ha | 6 ha | 17 ha |
| 2015 | 9 ha | 17 ha | 25 ha |
| 2016 | 11 ha | 12 ha | 23 ha |
| 2017 | 12 ha | 2 ha | 14 ha |
| 2018 | 8 ha | 35 ha | 44 ha |
| 2019 | 30 ha | 23 ha | 53 ha |
| 2020 | 15 ha | 7 ha | 22 ha |
| 2021 | 19 ha | 18 ha | 37 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | 4 ha | 12 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2025 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Thohoyandou?
- Towns and roadscleared for good33% · 99 ha
- Loggingcan grow back29% · 86 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good19% · 57 ha
Also: 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
- 12,800 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 12,800 ha
- Overall change
- −55 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Thohoyandou stayed about the same size, at about 12,800 hectares: new forest grew on about 534 hectares, and about 589 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 Thohoyandou
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Phalaborwa129.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 56
- Polokwane148.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 58
- Mokopane204.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 47
- Mbombela285.5 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 74
- Somaroboro315.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 64
- Ressano Garcia317.1 km
Mozambique
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 63
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Frequently asked
Questions about Thohoyandou
What is the air quality (AQI) in Thohoyandou right now?
The latest reading for Thohoyandou shows an AQI of 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by the Thohoyandou ground monitoring station, 7.9 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Thohoyandou today?
At AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Thohoyandou been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Thohoyandou's daily AQI at 45 on average, from 20 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 72 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 Thohoyandou lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Thohoyandou has lost about 299 hectares of forest (about 420 football pitches): 6.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (52%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Thohoyandou stayed about the same size, at about 12,800 hectares: new forest grew on about 534 hectares, and about 589 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Thohoyandou?
Thohoyandou has an estimated 132,261 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 42.1% tree cover, already past the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Thohoyandou need?
Thohoyandou has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Thohoyandou's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Thohoyandou, 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 Thohoyandou; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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