Air quality comparison · The Netherlands, 147 km apart
Amsterdam vs Groningen Air quality index (AQI) today
Amsterdam has cleaner air than Groningen right now: AQI 71 (Moderate) against 73 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Groningen averaged AQI 61 against 72, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Amsterdam has lost more forest since 2001. Groningen has more tree cover.
The Netherlands
AQI 71
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 19.6 µg/m³1.3× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 17:00 local
The Netherlands
AQI 73
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 21.1 µg/m³1.4× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 17:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Amsterdam71Groningen73
Head to head
Amsterdam vs Groningen at a glance
Groningen is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Amsterdam on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Amsterdam | Groningen | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 71 (better) | 73 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 19.6 (better) | 21.1 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 72 | 61 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 158 ha | 42 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 20.5% | 31.0% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 25.7K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Amsterdam and Groningen right now?
Amsterdam has cleaner air than Groningen right now: AQI 71 (Moderate) against 73 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Amsterdam's PM2.5 is about 1.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Groningen's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
AmsterdamGroningen
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Amsterdam: Ground station · Amsterdam-Van Diemenstraat, 1.8 km away · median of 14 stations. Data: OpenAQ · EEA.
Groningen: Ground station · Groningen-Europaweg, 800 m away · median of 4 stations. Data: OpenAQ · EEA, Netherlands, RIVM · Luchtmeetnet.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Groningen averaged AQI 61 against 72, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Amsterdam0Groningen6
- Average AQI
- Amsterdam72Groningen61
- Worst day, AQI
- Amsterdam101Groningen86
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Amsterdam | Groningen |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 42 | 33 |
| Nov 5 | 49 | 40 |
| Nov 6 | 66 | 55 |
| Nov 7 | 86 | 61 |
| Nov 8 | 79 | 79 |
| Nov 9 | 83 | 74 |
| Nov 10 | 101 | 86 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Amsterdam and Groningen today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
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.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Amsterdam and Groningen compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Amsterdam's air is cleaner than 37% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Groningen's is cleaner than 36%. Within The Netherlands, that is 71% and 58% of its 25 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Amsterdam
- Beats 37%
- Groningen
- Beats 36%
More tree cover than…
- Amsterdam
- Beats 48%
- Groningen
- Beats 70%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Amsterdam or Groningen?
Amsterdam has lost more: about 158 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 42 ha around Groningen. 133 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Measured within 10 km of each center, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: a wider circle than the one for tree cover, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Worst year: 2008, with 17 ha lost.
Worst year: 2016, with 9 ha lost.
| Amsterdam | Groningen | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 158 ha | 42 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.6% | 1.5% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 133 ha | 21 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (80%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (39%) |
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Amsterdam
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Groningen
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Amsterdam or Groningen?
Groningen has more tree cover: 31.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.5% around Amsterdam, or about 96,415 trees against 55,386.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Amsterdam | Groningen | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 55.4K | 96.4K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 25.7K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg | 2.1M kg (better) |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Amsterdam vs Groningen: your questions answered
Is Amsterdam cleaner than Groningen?
On air quality, yes, right now: Amsterdam reads AQI 71 against 73, a gap of 2 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Groningen averaged AQI 61 against 72, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Amsterdam and Groningen today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Amsterdam reads AQI 71 and Groningen reads AQI 73.
Which has lost more forest, Amsterdam or Groningen?
Amsterdam has lost more: about 158 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 42 ha around Groningen. 133 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Amsterdam or Groningen?
Groningen has more tree cover: 31.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.5% around Amsterdam, or about 96,415 trees against 55,386. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Amsterdam and Groningen need?
Amsterdam needs about 25,667 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Groningen about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Amsterdam and Groningen measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Amsterdam vs Groningen comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Aug 14, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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