City report · United States
Billings Air quality today
Air quality in Billings currently reads AQI 37 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 37
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.7
- tree cover
- 22.8%
- trees in this area
- 71.6K
- more trees needed
- 22.6K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around North Park, Billings, MT 59101, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 13, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Billings · AQI 37 (Good)
Billings's tree count comes to 71,557 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 22,597 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Billings today: AQI 37, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Billings, 3.9 mi (6.3 km) away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.7
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
7.8
SO₂
23.6
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirNow
- 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 Billings's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 8 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 4.
Where Billings stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Billings: Below target
22.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
71,557
Target trees
94,154
More trees needed
22,597
CO₂ if planted / yr
497.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Billings lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Billings has lost about 59 acres (24 hectares) of forest (about 45 football fields): 8.4% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was towns and roads (41%). About 28 acres (11 hectares) (47%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 59 acres (24 ha)about 45 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 8.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 28 acres (11 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 9 acres (4 hectares) of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2002 | 4 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 6 acres (3 ha) |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 2 acres (1 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) |
| 2004 | 4 acres (2 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2005 | 4 acres (2 ha) | 2 acres (1 ha) | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) | 5 acres (2 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 | 3 acres (1 ha) |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 3 acres (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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 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 Billings?
- Towns and roadscleared for good41% · 25 acres (10 ha)
- Wildfirescan grow back29% · 17 acres (7 ha)
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back3.3% · under 1 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, mining and energy, 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
- 2,190 acres (887 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 2,180 acres (881 ha)
- Overall change
- −15 acres (6 ha)less forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Billings stayed about the same size, at about 2,180 acres (881 hectares): new forest grew on about 75 acres (30 hectares), and about 88 acres (36 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 Billings
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Lethbridge541.9 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 4
- Regina593.4 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 40
- Salt Lake City622.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 35
- West Valley City633.0 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 39
- West Jordan639.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 43
- Fort Collins640.8 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 37
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Frequently asked
Questions about Billings
What is the air quality (AQI) in Billings right now?
The latest reading for Billings shows an AQI of 37 (Good), measured Nov 11, 07:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Billings, 3.9 mi (6.3 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Billings today?
At AQI 37 (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 Billings been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Billings's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 8 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Billings lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Billings has lost about 59 acres (24 hectares) of forest (about 45 football fields): 8.4% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was towns and roads (41%). About 28 acres (11 hectares) (47%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Billings stayed about the same size, at about 2,180 acres (881 hectares): new forest grew on about 75 acres (30 hectares), and about 88 acres (36 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Billings?
Billings has an estimated 71,557 trees across the 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land measured — 22.8% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Billings need?
Billings needs roughly 22,597 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 497.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Billings's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near North Park, 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 North Park; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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