City report · Belgium
Brugge
Measured across a 2 km radius around Steenstraat Quarter, 8000 Bruges, Belgium (12.57 km²)
- Tree cover
- 27.5%
- Air quality
- 129Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- Trees in this area
- 86.3K
- More trees needed
- 23.5K
- Area analyzed
- 12.56 km²land, in a 12.57 km² circle
- Satellite image
- Aug 12, 2026
Brugge's tree count comes to 86,307 trees across 12.56 km² of land — 7 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, meaning roughly 23,538 more trees would close the gap. Air quality currently reads AQI 129 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Brugge: Below target
27.5% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
86,307
Target trees
109,845
More trees needed
23,538
CO₂ if planted / yr
517.8 t
Air quality detail
Air quality in Brugge today: AQI 129, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Observed Oct 20, 00:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Brugge, 1.7 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
46.8
PM10
—
NO₂
14.0
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, EEA
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Brugge lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Brugge has lost about 174 hectares of forest (about 240 football pitches): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 35 hectares (20%) 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 centre.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 174 haabout 240 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 35 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2024, when about 28 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 | 3 ha | 6 ha | 8 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | 7 ha | 8 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 7 ha |
| 2010 | 3 ha | 10 ha | 13 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | 7 ha | 8 ha |
| 2012 | 1 ha | 9 ha | 10 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | 5 ha | 8 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | 16 ha | 20 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | 27 ha | 28 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Brugge?
- Loggingcan grow back70% · 122 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good15% · 26 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good5.4% · 9 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
- 6,620 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,890 ha
- Overall change
- +269 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Brugge grew from about 6,620 hectares to 6,890 hectares, a net gain of about 269 hectares (+4.1%). New forest grew on about 402 hectares, while 133 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 centre, 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Brugge
What is the tree count in Brugge?
Brugge has an estimated 86,307 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 27.5% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Brugge need?
Brugge needs roughly 23,538 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 517.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
What is the air quality (AQI) in Brugge right now?
The latest reading for Brugge shows an AQI of 129 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Oct 20, 00:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Brugge, 1.7 km away). Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
How much forest has the area around Brugge lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Brugge has lost about 174 hectares of forest (about 240 football pitches): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 35 hectares (20%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Brugge grew from about 6,620 hectares to 6,890 hectares, a net gain of about 269 hectares (+4.1%). New forest grew on about 402 hectares, while 133 hectares were lost.
How is Brugge's tree cover and air quality measured?
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 Steenstraat Quarter; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover. Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Steenstraat Quarter, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate.
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