City report · Gauteng, South Africa
Vereeniging Air quality today
Air quality in Vereeniging currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 55
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.3
- tree cover
- 17.2%
- trees in this area
- 53.0K
- more trees needed
- 39.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Vereeniging, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 22, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Vereeniging · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Vereeniging's tree count comes to 52,955 trees across 12.32 km² of land, 13 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 39,408 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Vereeniging today: AQI 55, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Sebokeng, 12.7 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.3
PM10
27.4
NO₂
17.6
O₃
76.5
SO₂
22.2
CO
41.2
Data: OpenAQ · South Africa, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS)
- 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 Vereeniging's daily AQI at 74 on average, from 45 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 153 on Nov 11.
Where Vereeniging stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Vereeniging: Critically low
17.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.32 km² of land.
Trees in this area
52,955
Target trees
92,363
More trees needed
39,408
CO₂ if planted / yr
867.0 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Vereeniging lost?
There was very little forest around Vereeniging in 2000, about 55 hectares, and about 4 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
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 | 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 | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 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 | 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 Vereeniging?
- Mining and energycleared for good62% · 3 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good19% · under 1 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good2.4% · under 1 ha
Also: 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
- 585 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 609 ha
- Overall change
- +24 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Vereeniging grew from about 585 hectares to 609 hectares, a net gain of about 24 hectares (+4.1%). New forest grew on about 42 hectares, while 17 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 Vereeniging
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Evaton17.3 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 3%
- Air quality
- 133
- Sasolburg19.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 52
- Tokoza40.2 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 78
- Soweto45.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 37
- Westonaria48.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 38
- Johannesburg53.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 44
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Frequently asked
Questions about Vereeniging
What is the air quality (AQI) in Vereeniging right now?
The latest reading for Vereeniging shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 18:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Sebokeng, 12.7 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Vereeniging today?
At AQI 55 (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 Vereeniging been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Vereeniging's daily AQI at 74 on average, from 45 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 153 on Nov 11. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Vereeniging lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Vereeniging in 2000, about 55 hectares, and about 4 hectares of it has been lost 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 Vereeniging grew from about 585 hectares to 609 hectares, a net gain of about 24 hectares (+4.1%). New forest grew on about 42 hectares, while 17 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Vereeniging?
Vereeniging has an estimated 52,955 trees across the 12.32 km² of land measured — 17.2% tree cover, 13 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Vereeniging need?
Vereeniging needs roughly 39,408 more trees to close a 13-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 867.0 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Vereeniging's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Vereeniging, 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 Vereeniging; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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