City report · England, United Kingdom
Bedford Air quality today
Air quality in Bedford currently reads AQI 14 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 14
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.5
- tree cover
- 23.5%
- trees in this area
- 73.8K
- more trees needed
- 20.4K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Bedford, UK (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 13, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bedford · AQI 14 (Good)
Bedford's tree count comes to 73,754 trees across 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land, 7 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 20,400 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bedford today: AQI 14, 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 · Milton Keynes, 14.2 mi (22.9 km) away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.5
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Seb
- 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 Bedford's daily AQI at 65 on average, from 33 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 89 on Nov 8.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index
Where Bedford stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bedford: Below target
23.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
73,754
Target trees
94,154
More trees needed
20,400
CO₂ if planted / yr
448.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bedford lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bedford has lost about 17 hectares of forest (about 24 football pitches): 1.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 1 hectare (8.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 17 haabout 24 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2021, when about 4 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bedford?
- Loggingcan grow back56% · 10 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good5.3% · under 1 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good4.7% · under 1 ha
Also: unknown causes.
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
- 1,460 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,830 ha
- Overall change
- +373 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bedford grew from about 1,460 hectares to 1,830 hectares, a net gain of about 373 hectares (+26%). New forest grew on about 398 hectares, while 24 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 Bedford
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Milton Keynes22.3 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 14
- Luton28.5 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 59
- Northampton31.2 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 14
- Cambridge40.4 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 39
- Peterborough51.0 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 26
- Watford53.5 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 56
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bedford
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bedford right now?
The latest reading for Bedford shows an AQI of 14 (Good), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by the Milton Keynes ground monitoring station, 14.2 mi (22.9 km) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bedford today?
At AQI 14 (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 Bedford been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bedford's daily AQI at 65 on average, from 33 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 89 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Bedford's AQI the same as the UK's Daily Air Quality Index?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. The UK's Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI), published by Defra, runs from 1 to 10: 1–3 low, 4–6 moderate, 7–9 high and 10 very high. It is a different scale altogether, so a US AQI figure can't be read on it directly; both, though, are built from the same main pollutants, with fine particles (PM2.5) usually the one that decides the reading.
How much forest has the area around Bedford lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bedford has lost about 17 hectares of forest (about 24 football pitches): 1.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 1 hectare (8.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bedford grew from about 1,460 hectares to 1,830 hectares, a net gain of about 373 hectares (+26%). New forest grew on about 398 hectares, while 24 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bedford?
Bedford has an estimated 73,754 trees across the 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land measured — 23.5% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bedford need?
Bedford needs roughly 20,400 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 448.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bedford's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Bedford, 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 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Bedford; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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