City report · Switzerland
Bern Air quality today
Air quality in Bern currently reads AQI 51 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 51
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.3
- tree cover
- 46.4%
- trees in this area
- 145K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Gelbes Quartier, Bern, Switzerland (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bern · AQI 51 (Moderate)
Bern's tree count comes to 144,604 trees across 12.47 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bern today: AQI 51, 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 · Bern-Engehalde, 1.4 km away · median of 6 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.3
PM10
10.9
NO₂
22.4
O₃
10.2
SO₂
—
CO
395.7
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, EEA, Pierre, hhugi, Schneider
- 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 Bern's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 31 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6.
Where Bern stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bern: Healthy tree cover
46.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.47 km² of land.
Trees in this area
144,604
Target trees
144,604
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bern lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bern has lost about 1,000 hectares of forest (about 1,400 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 33 hectares (3.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,000 haabout 1,400 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 33 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 50 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 62 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2020, when about 95 hectares of forest were lost.
Bern's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | 34 ha | 34 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | 21 ha | 23 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 27 ha | 30 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 51 ha | 52 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | 26 ha | 28 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | 26 ha | 28 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 30 ha | 30 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | 40 ha | 44 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 27 ha | 27 ha |
| 2011 | 2 ha | 42 ha | 44 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | 60 ha | 62 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 17 ha | 17 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 14 ha | 14 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 28 ha | 28 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 49 ha | 49 ha |
| 2018 | 1 ha | 47 ha | 48 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | 85 ha | 88 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 95 ha | 95 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 63 ha | 63 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 36 ha | 36 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 36 ha | 36 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 58 ha | 58 ha |
| 2025 | 4 ha | 49 ha | 53 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bern?
- Loggingcan grow back95% · 950 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good3.2% · 33 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown1.8% · 18 ha
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
- 12,100 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 12,100 ha
- Overall change
- −17 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bern stayed about the same size, at about 12,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 179 hectares, and about 196 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 Bern
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Lausanne78.5 km
Switzerland
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 15
- Mulhouse89.8 km
France
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 39
- Besançon113.2 km
France
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 23
- Winterthur114.6 km
Switzerland
- Tree cover
- 61%
- Air quality
- 54
Also compared:Bern vs Geneva
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bern
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bern right now?
The latest reading for Bern shows an AQI of 51 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 6 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Bern-Engehalde, 1.4 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bern today?
At AQI 51 (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 Bern been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bern's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 31 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Bern lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bern has lost about 1,000 hectares of forest (about 1,400 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 33 hectares (3.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 50 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 62 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bern stayed about the same size, at about 12,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 179 hectares, and about 196 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bern?
Bern has an estimated 144,604 trees across the 12.47 km² of land measured — 46.4% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bern need?
Bern has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Bern's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Gelbes Quartier, 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 Gelbes Quartier; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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