City report · Belgium
Brussels Air quality today
Air quality in Brussels currently reads AQI 34 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 34
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.2
- tree cover
- 9.0%
- trees in this area
- 27.9K
- more trees needed
- 65.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Ste Catherine, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Brussels · AQI 34 (Good)
Brussels's tree count comes to 27,850 trees across 12.38 km² of land, 21 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 64,984 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Brussels today: AQI 34, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · 41REG1 - BRUXELLES , 1.5 km away · median of 13 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.2
PM10
8.5
NO₂
22.5
O₃
3.5
SO₂
3.4
CO
485.0
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Brussels's daily AQI at 79 on average, from 58 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 143 on Nov 6.
Where Brussels stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Brussels: Critically low
9.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.38 km² of land.
Trees in this area
27,850
Target trees
92,834
More trees needed
64,984
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,430 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Brussels lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Brussels has lost about 132 hectares of forest (about 180 football pitches): 2.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 38 hectares (29%) 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 center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 132 haabout 180 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 38 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2010, when about 15 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 | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 12 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 5 ha | 8 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 7 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 9 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | 14 ha | 15 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 7 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | 4 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | 7 ha | 10 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 7 ha |
| 2021 | 6 ha | 4 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 5 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Brussels?
- Loggingcan grow back57% · 76 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good29% · 38 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown14% · 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
- 12,800 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 13,100 ha
- Overall change
- +286 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Brussels grew from about 12,800 hectares to 13,100 hectares, a net gain of about 286 hectares (+2.2%). New forest grew on about 424 hectares, while 138 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Brussels
What is the air quality (AQI) in Brussels right now?
The latest reading for Brussels shows an AQI of 34 (Good), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 13 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is 41REG1 - BRUXELLES , 1.5 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Brussels today?
At AQI 34 (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 Brussels been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Brussels's daily AQI at 79 on average, from 58 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 143 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 Brussels lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Brussels has lost about 132 hectares of forest (about 180 football pitches): 2.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 38 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Brussels grew from about 12,800 hectares to 13,100 hectares, a net gain of about 286 hectares (+2.2%). New forest grew on about 424 hectares, while 138 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Brussels?
Brussels has an estimated 27,850 trees across the 12.38 km² of land measured — 9.0% tree cover, 21 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Brussels need?
Brussels needs roughly 64,984 more trees to close a 21-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,430 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Brussels's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Ste Catherine, 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 Ste Catherine; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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