City report · Queensland, Australia
Townsville Air quality today
Air quality in Townsville currently reads AQI 56 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 56
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 12.2
- tree cover
- 19.3%
- trees in this area
- 60.4K
- more trees needed
- 33.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around West End QLD 4810, Australia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Townsville · AQI 56 (Moderate)
Townsville's tree count comes to 60,390 trees across 12.52 km² of land, 11 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 33,481 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Townsville today: AQI 56, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 11:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
12.2
PM10
19.1
NO₂
0.4
O₃
55.0
SO₂
0.8
CO
98.0
- 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 Townsville's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 24 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 56 on Nov 11.
Where Townsville stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Townsville: Below target
19.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.52 km² of land.
Trees in this area
60,390
Target trees
93,871
More trees needed
33,481
CO₂ if planted / yr
736.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Townsville lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Townsville has lost about 9 hectares of forest (about 12 football pitches): 1.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (66%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 9 haabout 12 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 6 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2010, when about 2 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 Townsville?
- Towns and roadscleared for good65% · 6 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back11% · under 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown24% · 2 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
- 2,710 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,670 ha
- Overall change
- −42 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Townsville stayed about the same size, at about 2,670 hectares: new forest grew on about 8 hectares, and about 50 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 Townsville
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Cairns282.7 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 52
- Sunshine Coast1042.6 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 12
- Toowoomba1061.0 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 13
- Port Moresby1089.1 km
Papua New Guinea
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 27
- Brisbane1110.8 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 11
- Logan City1131.0 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 15
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Frequently asked
Questions about Townsville
What is the air quality (AQI) in Townsville right now?
The latest reading for Townsville shows an AQI of 56 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 11:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Townsville today?
At AQI 56 (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 Townsville been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Townsville's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 24 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 56 on Nov 11. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Townsville lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Townsville has lost about 9 hectares of forest (about 12 football pitches): 1.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (66%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Townsville stayed about the same size, at about 2,670 hectares: new forest grew on about 8 hectares, and about 50 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Townsville?
Townsville has an estimated 60,390 trees across the 12.52 km² of land measured — 19.3% tree cover, 11 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Townsville need?
Townsville needs roughly 33,481 more trees to close a 11-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 736.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Townsville'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 West End QLD 4810; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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