City report · Germany
Berlin Air quality today
Air quality in Berlin currently reads AQI 98 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 98
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 34.5
- tree cover
- 27.7%
- trees in this area
- 85.8K
- more trees needed
- 7.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Mitte, Berlin, Germany (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 27, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Berlin · AQI 98 (Moderate)
Berlin's tree count comes to 85,804 trees across 12.39 km² of land, 2 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 7,125 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Berlin today: AQI 98, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Balcony, 2.4 km away · median of 13 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
34.5
PM10
21.6
NO₂
18.9
O₃
21.1
SO₂
—
CO
300.0
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, EEA, MM, Bene
- Outdoor exercise
- 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
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Berlin's daily AQI at 65 on average, from 34 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 91 on Nov 10.
Where Berlin stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Berlin: Below target
27.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.39 km² of land.
Trees in this area
85,804
Target trees
92,929
More trees needed
7,125
CO₂ if planted / yr
156.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Berlin lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Berlin has lost about 37 hectares of forest (about 52 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (58%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 37 haabout 52 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 22 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2021, when about 5 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 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 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 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Berlin?
- Towns and roadscleared for good58% · 22 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown41% · 15 ha
Also: logging.
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
- 4,860 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,120 ha
- Overall change
- +259 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Berlin grew from about 4,860 hectares to 5,120 hectares, a net gain of about 259 hectares (+5.3%). New forest grew on about 361 hectares, while 101 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 Berlin
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Potsdam27.2 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 51%
- Air quality
- 68
- Gorzów Wielkopolski124.7 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 71
- Szczecin126.4 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 87
- Magdeburg128.5 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 75
- Leipzig149.8 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 95
- Halle (Saale)151.8 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 63
Also compared:Berlin vs HamburgBerlin vs MunichBerlin vs KölnBerlin vs Frankfurt am Main
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Frequently asked
Questions about Berlin
What is the air quality (AQI) in Berlin right now?
The latest reading for Berlin shows an AQI of 98 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 13 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Balcony, 2.4 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Berlin today?
At AQI 98 (Moderate): 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. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Berlin been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Berlin's daily AQI at 65 on average, from 34 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 91 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Berlin lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Berlin has lost about 37 hectares of forest (about 52 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (58%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Berlin grew from about 4,860 hectares to 5,120 hectares, a net gain of about 259 hectares (+5.3%). New forest grew on about 361 hectares, while 101 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Berlin?
Berlin has an estimated 85,804 trees across the 12.39 km² of land measured — 27.7% tree cover, 2 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Berlin need?
Berlin needs roughly 7,125 more trees to close a 2-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 156.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Berlin's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Mitte, 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 Mitte; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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