Air quality comparison · Norway, 305 km apart
Bergen vs Oslo Air quality index (AQI) today
Bergen has cleaner air than Oslo right now: AQI 12 (Good) against 51 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Bergen averaged AQI 38 against 72, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Oslo has lost more forest since 2001. Bergen has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Bergen12Oslo51
Head to head
Bergen vs Oslo at a glance
Bergen is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Oslo on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Bergen | Oslo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 12 (better) | 51 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 2.2 (better) | 9.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 38 (better) | 72 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 610 ha (better) | 672 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 50.3% (better) | 28.7% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 3.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Bergen and Oslo right now?
Bergen has cleaner air than Oslo right now: AQI 12 (Good) against 51 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
BergenOslo
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).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Bergen averaged AQI 38 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
- Bergen6Oslo0
- Average AQI
- Bergen38Oslo72
- Worst day, AQI
- Bergen43Oslo89
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Bergen | Oslo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 34 | 53 |
| Nov 6 | 34 | 67 |
| Nov 7 | 40 | 74 |
| Nov 8 | 41 | 89 |
| Nov 9 | 38 | 83 |
| Nov 10 | 43 | 65 |
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 Bergen and Oslo today?
Bergen (AQI 12, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Oslo (AQI 51, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Bergen
- A good day to be active outside.
- Oslo
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Bergen
- Open them to air the house.
- Oslo
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Bergen
- Not needed.
- Oslo
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Bergen
- Not needed.
- Oslo
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Bergen and Oslo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Bergen's air is cleaner than 94% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Oslo's is cleaner than 61%. Within Norway, that is 100% and 40% of its 6 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Bergen
- Beats 94%
- Oslo
- Beats 61%
More tree cover than…
- Bergen
- Beats 92%
- Oslo
- Beats 66%
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, Bergen or Oslo?
Oslo has lost more: about 672 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 610 ha around Bergen. 212 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: 2016, with 57 ha lost.
Worst year: 2016, with 63 ha lost.
| Bergen | Oslo | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 610 ha (better) | 672 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.7% (better) | 4.8% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 359 ha | 212 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (58%) | Logging (66%) |
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.
Bergen
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
Oslo
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Bergen or Oslo?
Bergen has more tree cover: 50.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 28.7% around Oslo, or about 115,988 trees against 71,590.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Bergen | Oslo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 116K (better) | 71.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 3.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.6M kg (better) | 1.6M kg |
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
Bergen vs Oslo: your questions answered
Is Bergen cleaner than Oslo?
On air quality, yes, right now: Bergen reads AQI 12 against 51, a gap of 39 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Bergen averaged AQI 38 against 72, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Bergen and Oslo today?
In Bergen, at AQI 12: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Oslo, at AQI 51: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Bergen or Oslo?
Oslo has lost more: about 672 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 610 ha around Bergen. 212 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Bergen or Oslo?
Bergen has more tree cover: 50.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 28.7% around Oslo, or about 115,988 trees against 71,590. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Bergen and Oslo need?
Bergen needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Oslo about 3,243 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Bergen and Oslo 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 Bergen vs Oslo 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 25, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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