City report · Laos
Vientiane Air quality today
Air quality in Vientiane 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)
- 41.1
- tree cover
- 27.6%
- trees in this area
- 78.6K
- more trees needed
- 21.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Vientiane, Laos (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Jun 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Vientiane · AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Vientiane's tree count comes to 78,644 trees across 11.4 km² of land, 7 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 21,086 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Vientiane today: AQI 115, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 23:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · ໂຮງໝໍມະໂຫສົດ Mahosot Hospital, 1.7 km away · median of 5 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
41.1
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, UNICEF
- 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 Vientiane's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 23 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 78 on Nov 5.
Where Vientiane stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Vientiane: Below target
27.6% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.4 km² of land.
Trees in this area
78,644
Target trees
99,730
More trees needed
21,086
CO₂ if planted / yr
463.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Vientiane lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Vientiane has lost about 263 hectares of forest (about 370 football pitches): 53% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 263 haabout 370 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 53%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 262 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2010, when about 36 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 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2009 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2010 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2011 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2012 | 31 ha | under 1 ha | 31 ha |
| 2013 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2014 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2015 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2016 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2017 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2018 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2020 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Vientiane?
- Towns and roadscleared for good96% · 253 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.4% · 9 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
- 3,220 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,670 ha
- Overall change
- −548 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Vientiane shrank from about 3,220 hectares to 2,670 hectares, a net loss of about 548 hectares (−17%). New forest grew on about 310 hectares, but 858 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 Vientiane
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Udon Thani64.4 km
Thailand
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 51
- Khon Kaen170.8 km
Thailand
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 64
- Lampang330.3 km
Thailand
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 34
- Vinh335.7 km
Vietnam
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 59
Also compared:Vientiane vs Ban Khoan
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Frequently asked
Questions about Vientiane
What is the air quality (AQI) in Vientiane right now?
The latest reading for Vientiane shows an AQI of 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by 5 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is ໂຮງໝໍມະໂຫສົດ Mahosot Hospital, 1.7 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Vientiane 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 Vientiane been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Vientiane's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 23 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 78 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 Vientiane lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Vientiane has lost about 263 hectares of forest (about 370 football pitches): 53% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Vientiane shrank from about 3,220 hectares to 2,670 hectares, a net loss of about 548 hectares (−17%). New forest grew on about 310 hectares, but 858 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Vientiane?
Vientiane has an estimated 78,644 trees across the 11.4 km² of land measured — 27.6% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Vientiane need?
Vientiane needs roughly 21,086 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 463.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Vientiane's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Vientiane, 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 Vientiane; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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