City report · Tamil Nadu, India
Thoothukudi Air quality today
Air quality in Thoothukudi currently reads AQI 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 103
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 33.4
- tree cover
- 13.1%
- trees in this area
- 21.6K
- more trees needed
- 36.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Tuticorin Beach Road Salt Pans, Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 29, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Thoothukudi · AQI 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Thoothukudi's tree count comes to 21,565 trees across 6.59 km² of land, 22 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 36,052 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Thoothukudi today: AQI 103, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 15:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
33.4
PM10
36.7
NO₂
5.9
O₃
148.0
SO₂
13.2
CO
325.0
- 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 Thoothukudi's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 28 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 115 on Nov 10.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from India's AQI (CPCB) · The full guide
Where Thoothukudi stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Thoothukudi: Critically low
13.1% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 6.59 km² of land.
Trees in this area
21,565
Target trees
57,617
More trees needed
36,052
CO₂ if planted / yr
793.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Thoothukudi lost?
There was almost no forest around Thoothukudi in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2018: satellite photo from February 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 505 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 844 ha
- Overall change
- +339 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Thoothukudi grew from about 505 hectares to 844 hectares, a net gain of about 339 hectares (+67%). New forest grew on about 346 hectares, while 6 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 Thoothukudi
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Tirunelveli49.7 km
India
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 114
- Sivakasi84.4 km
India
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 84
- Rajapalayam99.4 km
India
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 115
- Nāgercoil101.2 km
India
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 83
- Madurai128.1 km
India
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 90
- Thiruvananthapuram134.0 km
India
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 92
Build your own
Compare Thoothukudi with anywhere
This place
Thoothukudi
Use this data
Put Thoothukudi's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Thoothukudi
What is the air quality (AQI) in Thoothukudi right now?
The latest reading for Thoothukudi shows an AQI of 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 11, 15:30 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Thoothukudi today?
At AQI 103 (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 Thoothukudi been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Thoothukudi's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 28 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 115 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Thoothukudi'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 Thoothukudi lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Thoothukudi in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Thoothukudi grew from about 505 hectares to 844 hectares, a net gain of about 339 hectares (+67%). New forest grew on about 346 hectares, while 6 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Thoothukudi?
Thoothukudi has an estimated 21,565 trees across the 6.59 km² of land measured — 13.1% tree cover, 22 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Thoothukudi need?
Thoothukudi needs roughly 36,052 more trees to close a 22-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 793.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Thoothukudi'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 Tuticorin Beach Road Salt Pans; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address