City report · New Zealand
Wellington Air quality today
Air quality in Wellington currently reads AQI 24 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 24
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.6
- tree cover
- 44.8%
- trees in this area
- 117K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Wellington Central, Wellington 6011, New Zealand (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Feb 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Wellington · AQI 24 (Good)
Wellington's tree count comes to 116,958 trees across 10.45 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Wellington today: AQI 24, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 21:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.6
PM10
7.5
NO₂
0.9
O₃
42.0
SO₂
0.4
CO
78.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Wellington's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 13 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 32 on Nov 5.
Where Wellington stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Wellington: Healthy tree cover
44.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.45 km² of land.
Trees in this area
116,958
Target trees
116,958
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Wellington lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Wellington has lost about 689 hectares of forest (about 970 football pitches): 6.6% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was logging (43%), after which forest can grow back. About 255 hectares (37%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from March 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 689 haabout 970 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 255 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2018, when about 92 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Wellington's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 6 ha | 13 ha | 19 ha |
| 2002 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2003 | 10 ha | 2 ha | 12 ha |
| 2004 | 14 ha | 4 ha | 17 ha |
| 2005 | 12 ha | 20 ha | 32 ha |
| 2006 | 7 ha | 62 ha | 69 ha |
| 2007 | 14 ha | 42 ha | 56 ha |
| 2008 | 6 ha | 6 ha | 12 ha |
| 2009 | 7 ha | 28 ha | 35 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | 19 ha | 24 ha |
| 2011 | 14 ha | 2 ha | 17 ha |
| 2012 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2013 | 10 ha | 6 ha | 16 ha |
| 2014 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2015 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 11 ha |
| 2016 | 18 ha | 7 ha | 25 ha |
| 2017 | 39 ha | 15 ha | 54 ha |
| 2018 | 26 ha | 66 ha | 92 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | 19 ha | 26 ha |
| 2020 | 13 ha | 34 ha | 47 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | 23 ha | 27 ha |
| 2022 | 10 ha | 31 ha | 41 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | 20 ha | 23 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | 6 ha | 7 ha |
| 2025 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Wellington?
- Loggingcan grow back43% · 299 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good17% · 114 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back16% · 113 ha
Also: mining and energy, farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 9,390 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,430 ha
- Overall change
- +41 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Wellington stayed about the same size, at about 9,430 hectares: new forest grew on about 290 hectares, and about 249 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 Wellington
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Tauranga417.8 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 23
- Manukau City477.5 km
New Zealand
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 57
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Frequently asked
Questions about Wellington
What is the air quality (AQI) in Wellington right now?
The latest reading for Wellington shows an AQI of 24 (Good), observed Nov 11, 21:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Wellington today?
At AQI 24 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Wellington been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Wellington's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 13 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 32 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 Wellington lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Wellington has lost about 689 hectares of forest (about 970 football pitches): 6.6% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was logging (43%), after which forest can grow back. About 255 hectares (37%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Wellington stayed about the same size, at about 9,430 hectares: new forest grew on about 290 hectares, and about 249 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Wellington?
Wellington has an estimated 116,958 trees across the 10.45 km² of land measured — 44.8% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Wellington need?
Wellington has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Wellington'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 Wellington Central; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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