City report · North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Aachen Air quality today
Air quality in Aachen currently reads AQI 40 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 40
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 7.2
- tree cover
- 41.5%
- trees in this area
- 130K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Aachen, Germany (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Aachen · AQI 40 (Good)
Aachen's tree count comes to 130,376 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Aachen today: AQI 40, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Aachen Luisenhoefe, 1 km away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
7.2
PM10
5.5
NO₂
32.2
O₃
2.4
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, EEA
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Aachen's daily AQI at 59 on average, from 33 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 89 on Nov 7.
Where Aachen stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Aachen: Healthy tree cover
41.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
130,376
Target trees
130,376
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Aachen lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Aachen has lost about 762 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 8.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 29 hectares (3.8%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 762 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 8.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 29 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2021, when about 114 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | 11 ha | 12 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 26 ha | 26 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | 40 ha | 43 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 57 ha | 58 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | 90 ha | 95 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | 71 ha | 74 ha |
| 2011 | 2 ha | 16 ha | 17 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 8 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 7 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 15 ha | 15 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | 13 ha | 14 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 22 ha | 23 ha |
| 2018 | 1 ha | 15 ha | 16 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | 49 ha | 51 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | 89 ha | 91 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | 111 ha | 114 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 28 ha | 28 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 22 ha | 22 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | 12 ha | 13 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Aachen?
- Loggingcan grow back94% · 719 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good3.8% · 29 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown1.7% · 13 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 13,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 14,300 ha
- Overall change
- +418 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Aachen grew from about 13,900 hectares to 14,300 hectares, a net gain of about 418 hectares (+3%). New forest grew on about 598 hectares, while 181 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Aachen
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Maastricht28.8 km
The Netherlands
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 28
- Liège39.7 km
Belgium
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 16
- Mönchengladbach51.9 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 51
- Köln63.3 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 50
- Venlo66.2 km
The Netherlands
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 96
- Leverkusen69.2 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 54
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Frequently asked
Questions about Aachen
What is the air quality (AQI) in Aachen right now?
The latest reading for Aachen shows an AQI of 40 (Good), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Aachen Luisenhoefe, 1 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Aachen today?
At AQI 40 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Aachen been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Aachen's daily AQI at 59 on average, from 33 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 89 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Aachen lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Aachen has lost about 762 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 8.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 29 hectares (3.8%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Aachen grew from about 13,900 hectares to 14,300 hectares, a net gain of about 418 hectares (+3%). New forest grew on about 598 hectares, while 181 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Aachen?
Aachen has an estimated 130,376 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 41.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Aachen need?
Aachen has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Aachen's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Aachen, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Aachen; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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