Air quality comparison · Belgium, 50 km apart
Brussels vs Gent Air quality index (AQI) today
Brussels has cleaner air than Gent right now: AQI 33 (Good) against 65 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Gent averaged AQI 80 against 83, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Brussels has lost more forest since 2001. Gent has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Brussels33Gent65
Head to head
Brussels vs Gent at a glance
Gent is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Brussels on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Brussels | Gent | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 33 (better) | 65 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6 (better) | 16.4 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 83 | 80 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 132 ha | 108 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 9.0% | 20.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 65.0K | 28.7K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Brussels and Gent right now?
Brussels has cleaner air than Gent right now: AQI 33 (Good) against 65 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Gent's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
BrusselsGent
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?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Gent averaged AQI 80 against 83, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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
- Brussels1Gent4
- Average AQI
- Brussels83Gent80
- Worst day, AQI
- Brussels99Gent95
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Brussels | Gent |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 64 | 64 |
| Nov 6 | 98 | 86 |
| Nov 7 | 99 | 95 |
| Nov 8 | 72 | 73 |
| Nov 9 | 78 | 77 |
| Nov 10 | 85 | 83 |
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 Brussels and Gent today?
Brussels (AQI 33, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Gent (AQI 65, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Brussels
- A good day to be active outside.
- Gent
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Brussels
- Open them to air the house.
- Gent
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Brussels
- Not needed.
- Gent
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Brussels
- Not needed.
- Gent
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Brussels and Gent compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Brussels's air is cleaner than 76% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Gent's is cleaner than 42%. Within Belgium, that is 86% and 14% of its 8 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Brussels
- Beats 76%
- Gent
- Beats 42%
More tree cover than…
- Brussels
- Beats 19%
- Gent
- Beats 49%
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, Brussels or Gent?
Brussels has lost more: about 132 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 108 ha around Gent. 38 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: 2010, with 15 ha lost.
Worst year: 2024, with 12 ha lost.
| Brussels | Gent | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 132 ha | 108 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.2% (better) | 2.5% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 38 ha (better) | 39 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Logging (57%) | Logging (45%) |
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.
Brussels
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Gent
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Brussels or Gent?
Gent has more tree cover: 20.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.0% around Brussels, or about 64,953 trees against 27,850.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Brussels | Gent | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 27.9K | 65.0K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 65.0K | 28.7K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 613K kg | 1.4M 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
Brussels vs Gent: your questions answered
Is Brussels cleaner than Gent?
On air quality, yes, right now: Brussels reads AQI 33 against 65, a gap of 32 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Gent averaged AQI 80 against 83, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Brussels and Gent today?
In Brussels, at AQI 33: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Gent, at AQI 65: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Brussels or Gent?
Brussels has lost more: about 132 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 108 ha around Gent. 38 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Brussels or Gent?
Gent has more tree cover: 20.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.0% around Brussels, or about 64,953 trees against 27,850. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Brussels and Gent need?
Brussels needs about 64,984 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Gent about 28,729 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 50 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Brussels and Gent 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 Brussels vs Gent 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 (Sep 15, 2026 and Aug 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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