City report · Beijing, China
Beijing Air quality today
Air quality in Beijing currently reads AQI 171 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
AQI 171
Air quality right now
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 84.6
- tree cover
- 19.6%
- trees in this area
- 58.6K
- more trees needed
- 61.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around China, 北京市东城区前门 (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Beijing · AQI 171 (Unhealthy)
Beijing's tree count comes to 58,620 trees across 11.97 km² of land, 20 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 61,012 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Beijing today: AQI 171, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 01:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Temple of Heaven, Dongcheng, Beijing (东城天坛), 2.5 km away · median of 5 stations
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
84.6
PM10
113.6
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Beijing Environmental Protection Monitoring Center (北京市环境保护监测中心)
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it
- Windows
- Keep them closed
- Mask
- Wear an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Beijing's daily AQI at 176 on average, from 108 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 428 on Nov 5.
Where Beijing stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Beijing: Critically low
19.6% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.97 km² of land.
Trees in this area
58,620
Target trees
119,632
More trees needed
61,012
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,342 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Beijing lost?
There was almost no forest around Beijing in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 1,130 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,090 ha
- Overall change
- +958 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Beijing grew from about 1,130 hectares to 2,090 hectares, a net gain of about 958 hectares (+85%). New forest grew on about 961 hectares, while 3 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 Beijing
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Daxing19.5 km
China
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 177
- Tongzhou22.6 km
China
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 185
- Mentougou26.2 km
China
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 132
- Shunyi32.0 km
China
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 165
- Langfang50.9 km
China
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 189
- Sanhe57.8 km
China
- Tree cover
- 12%
- Air quality
- 201
Also compared:Beijing vs ShanghaiBeijing vs ChongqingBeijing vs ChengduBeijing vs Guangzhou
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Frequently asked
Questions about Beijing
What is the air quality (AQI) in Beijing right now?
The latest reading for Beijing shows an AQI of 171 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 12, 01:00 local time by 5 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Temple of Heaven, Dongcheng, Beijing (东城天坛), 2.5 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Beijing today?
At AQI 171 (Unhealthy): everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it. Windows: keep them closed. Masks: wear an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Beijing been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Beijing's daily AQI at 176 on average, from 108 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 428 on Nov 5. On 7 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Beijing lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Beijing in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Beijing grew from about 1,130 hectares to 2,090 hectares, a net gain of about 958 hectares (+85%). New forest grew on about 961 hectares, while 3 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Beijing?
Beijing has an estimated 58,620 trees across the 11.97 km² of land measured — 19.6% tree cover, 20 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Beijing need?
Beijing needs roughly 61,012 more trees to close a 20-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 1,342 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Beijing's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near China, 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 China; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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