City report · Western Cape, South Africa
Worcester Air quality today
Air quality in Worcester currently reads AQI 27 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 27
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.2
- tree cover
- 9.7%
- trees in this area
- 30.0K
- more trees needed
- 62.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Worcester Central, Worcester, 6849, South Africa (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Worcester · AQI 27 (Good)
Worcester's tree count comes to 30,016 trees across 12.38 km² of land, 20 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 62,818 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Worcester today: AQI 27, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 01:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 105 km, e.g. Paarl and Cape Town
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.2
PM10
13.7
NO₂
5.5
O₃
76.0
SO₂
7.9
CO
216.0
- 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 Worcester's daily AQI at 32 on average, from 15 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 5.
Where Worcester stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Worcester: Critically low
9.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.38 km² of land.
Trees in this area
30,016
Target trees
92,834
More trees needed
62,818
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,382 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Worcester lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Worcester has lost about 440 hectares of forest (about 620 football pitches): 40% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (48%). About 210 hectares (48%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 440 haabout 620 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 40%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 210 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2016, when about 67 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 | 15 ha | 35 ha | 49 ha |
| 2002 | 12 ha | 4 ha | 16 ha |
| 2003 | 10 ha | 24 ha | 34 ha |
| 2004 | 12 ha | 7 ha | 18 ha |
| 2005 | 7 ha | 2 ha | 9 ha |
| 2006 | 8 ha | 2 ha | 9 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 5 ha | 8 ha |
| 2008 | 26 ha | 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2009 | 8 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2011 | 17 ha | 16 ha | 32 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2013 | 5 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2014 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2015 | 13 ha | 21 ha | 35 ha |
| 2016 | 22 ha | 45 ha | 67 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2019 | 6 ha | 12 ha | 18 ha |
| 2020 | 10 ha | 10 ha | 19 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2022 | 11 ha | 4 ha | 15 ha |
| 2023 | 4 ha | 4 ha | 8 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | 21 ha | 23 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Worcester?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good48% · 209 ha
- Loggingcan grow back28% · 121 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back24% · 107 ha
Also: mining and energy, 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
- 1,530 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,530 ha
- Overall change
- +2 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Worcester stayed about the same size, at about 1,530 hectares: new forest grew on about 45 hectares, and about 44 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 Worcester
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Paarl44.9 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 44
- Somerset West75.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 79
- Cape Town99.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 50
- George280.6 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 37
- Kariega550.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 26
- Gqeberha570.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 62
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Frequently asked
Questions about Worcester
What is the air quality (AQI) in Worcester right now?
The latest reading for Worcester shows an AQI of 27 (Good), observed Nov 11, 01:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Worcester today?
At AQI 27 (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 Worcester been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Worcester's daily AQI at 32 on average, from 15 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 59 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 Worcester lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Worcester has lost about 440 hectares of forest (about 620 football pitches): 40% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (48%). About 210 hectares (48%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Worcester stayed about the same size, at about 1,530 hectares: new forest grew on about 45 hectares, and about 44 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Worcester?
Worcester has an estimated 30,016 trees across the 12.38 km² of land measured — 9.7% tree cover, 20 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Worcester need?
Worcester needs roughly 62,818 more trees to close a 20-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,382 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Worcester'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 Worcester Central; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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