Air quality comparison · The Netherlands, 202 km apart
Groningen vs Rotterdam Air quality index (AQI) today
Rotterdam has cleaner air than Groningen right now: AQI 72 (Moderate) against 74 (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. Rotterdam has lost more forest since 2001. Groningen has more tree cover.
The Netherlands
AQI 74
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 21.6 µg/m³1.4× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 18:00 local
The Netherlands
AQI 72
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 20.6 µg/m³1.4× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 18:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Groningen74Rotterdam72
Head to head
Groningen vs Rotterdam at a glance
Groningen is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Rotterdam on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Groningen | Rotterdam | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 74 | 72 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 21.6 | 20.6 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 61 (better) | 72 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 42 ha (better) | 133 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 31.0% (better) | 25.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 11.4K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Groningen and Rotterdam right now?
Rotterdam has cleaner air than Groningen right now: AQI 72 (Moderate) against 74 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Groningen's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Rotterdam's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
GroningenRotterdam
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).
Groningen: Ground station · Groningen-Europaweg, 800 m away · median of 4 stations. Data: OpenAQ · EEA, Netherlands, RIVM · Luchtmeetnet.
Rotterdam: Ground station · Rotterdam-Schiedamsevest, 900 m away · median of 8 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
- Groningen6Rotterdam1
- Average AQI
- Groningen61Rotterdam72
- Worst day, AQI
- Groningen86Rotterdam93
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Groningen | Rotterdam |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 33 | 46 |
| Nov 5 | 40 | 52 |
| Nov 6 | 55 | 70 |
| Nov 7 | 61 | 87 |
| Nov 8 | 79 | 77 |
| Nov 9 | 74 | 80 |
| Nov 10 | 86 | 93 |
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 Groningen and Rotterdam 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 Groningen and Rotterdam compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Groningen's air is cleaner than 34% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Rotterdam's is cleaner than 36%. Within The Netherlands, that is 54% and 71% of its 25 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Groningen
- Beats 34%
- Rotterdam
- Beats 36%
More tree cover than…
- Groningen
- Beats 70%
- Rotterdam
- Beats 60%
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, Groningen or Rotterdam?
Rotterdam has lost more: about 133 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 42 ha around Groningen. 108 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 9 ha lost.
Worst year: 2019, with 28 ha lost.
| Groningen | Rotterdam | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 42 ha (better) | 133 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 1.5% (better) | 3.2% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 21 ha (better) | 108 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (39%) | Towns and roads (82%) |
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.
Groningen
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Rotterdam
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 4 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Groningen or Rotterdam?
Groningen has more tree cover: 31.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 25.9% around Rotterdam, or about 96,415 trees against 72,254.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Groningen | Rotterdam | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 96.4K (better) | 72.3K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 11.4K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.1M 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
Groningen vs Rotterdam: your questions answered
Is Rotterdam cleaner than Groningen?
On air quality, yes, right now: Rotterdam reads AQI 72 against 74, 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 Groningen and Rotterdam today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Groningen reads AQI 74 and Rotterdam reads AQI 72.
Which has lost more forest, Groningen or Rotterdam?
Rotterdam has lost more: about 133 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 42 ha around Groningen. 108 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Groningen or Rotterdam?
Groningen has more tree cover: 31.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 25.9% around Rotterdam, or about 96,415 trees against 72,254. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Groningen and Rotterdam need?
Groningen needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Rotterdam about 11,438 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Groningen and Rotterdam 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 Groningen vs Rotterdam 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 16, 2026 and Aug 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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