Copenhagen vs Hamburg
Tree cover and air quality for both, measured the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius from each city centre, and the live US EPA air quality index. Same radius and same index, so the two numbers compare directly.
Hamburg has more tree cover — 24.4% against 23.9%.
Hamburg has cleaner air right now — AQI 31 against 32.
- Tree cover gap
- 0.5 points
- Hamburg is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 1 AQI
- Hamburg is cleaner.
- Trees between them
- 9.2K
- Copenhagen has more standing.
Denmark
Germany
Tree cover
Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.
23.9%
24.4%
Air quality index
US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.
32 · Good
31 · Good
Trees standing
Estimated from the measured canopy area.
68.7K
59.5K
Trees still needed
To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.
17.5K
13.7K
CO₂ absorbed each year
By the trees already standing.
1.5M kg
1.3M kg
Air quality in detail
What each city is breathing
Concentrations in µg/m³, measured at the same moment as the index above. Lower is better in every row. Both are read from nearby ground stations.
PM2.5
Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.
7.7 µg/m³
5.1 µg/m³
Nitrogen dioxide
Mostly traffic and combustion.
4.4 µg/m³
9 µg/m³
The last week, day by day
A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon. The week says whether it was the weather or the place.
| Day | Copenhagen | Hamburg |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept | 24 | 28 |
| 23 Sept | 30 | 48 |
| 24 Sept | 25 | 30 |
| 25 Sept | 29 | 29 |
| 26 Sept | 40 | 48 |
| 27 Sept | 30 | 43 |
| 28 Sept | 42 | 44 |
Reading these numbers
What is actually being measured
Tree cover
The share of ground under canopy inside a 2 km radius of each city centre, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It is a measurement of that circle, not of the whole municipality — which is exactly what makes the two comparable, since city boundaries are drawn to wildly different rules around the world. Hamburg leads here at 24.4%.
Air quality index
The live US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations — ground stations where a city has them nearby, and a model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so this is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place: Copenhagen reads 32 (good) and Hamburg reads 31 (good) right now.
Frequently asked
Copenhagen and Hamburg, answered
Which has more trees, Copenhagen or Hamburg?
Copenhagen, with roughly 68,702 trees inside its 2 km radius against 59,484. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Hamburg has the denser canopy at 24.4%.
Which has better air quality, Copenhagen or Hamburg?
Hamburg right now, at AQI 31 against 32 — a gap of 1 points. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day.
How many more trees does each city need?
Copenhagen needs about 17,535 more to reach its canopy target, and Hamburg about 13,652. The target is the same share of ground for both, so the figures are directly comparable.
Are these two measured the same way?
Yes — that is the point of the page. Identical radius, identical satellite source at 10 m detail, and the same US EPA index for air. Nothing here is adjusted for population, city limits or climate, so the numbers describe the same-sized circle of ground in each place.
Keep going
Other comparisons nearby
- Copenhagen vs Malmö28% tree cover · AQI 44Compare
- Copenhagen vs Helsingborg42% tree cover · AQI 40Compare
- Copenhagen vs Odense49% tree cover · AQI 36Compare
- Copenhagen vs Århus27% tree cover · AQI 37Compare
- Copenhagen vs Lübeck52% tree cover · AQI 38Compare
- Copenhagen vs Kiel46% tree cover · AQI 36Compare
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