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Airleaf

City report · Ontario, Canada

Burlington Air quality today

Air quality in Burlington currently reads AQI 44 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Air quality right now

AQI 44

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
8.0
tree cover
39.7%
trees in this area
125K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 2 km radius around Burlington, ON, Canada (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 5, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Burlington · AQI 44 (Good)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Aug 5, 2026

Burlington's tree count comes to 124,721 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Burlington today: AQI 44, Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Ground station · Burlington, 8.4 km away

Health signal

Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

PM2.5

8.0

PM10

—

NO₂

—

O₃

15.7

SO₂

—

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 Burlington's daily AQI at 24 on average, from 11 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 51 on Nov 8.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 24 · peak 51
Nov 4: AQI 28 (peak 50)Nov 5: AQI 19 (peak 34)Nov 6: AQI 19 (peak 36)Nov 7: AQI 21 (peak 34)Nov 8: AQI 39 (peak 51)Nov 9: AQI 11 (peak 33)Nov 10: AQI 28 (peak 33)
Nov 4Nov 10

This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Canada's AQHI

Where Burlington stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Burlington: Healthy tree cover

39.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².

Target reached

Trees in this area

124,721

Target trees

124,721

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Burlington lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Burlington has lost about 55 hectares of forest (about 77 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (73%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.

Satellite image of the area around Burlington, June 2017

2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
55 haabout 77 football pitches
Share of its forest
under 1%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
40 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

The worst year was 2001, when about 9 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Burlington, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Burlington, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.9.2

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Burlington, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
20019 haunder 1 ha9 ha
20022 ha1 ha3 ha
20033 haunder 1 ha3 ha
20042 haunder 1 ha3 ha
20057 ha1 ha8 ha
2006under 1 ha2 ha2 ha
20072 ha1 ha3 ha
2008under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
20091 haunder 1 ha1 ha
2010under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2011under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2012under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2013under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2014under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2015under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2016under 1 ha1 ha2 ha
20174 haunder 1 ha5 ha
2018under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2019under 1 haunder 1 ha1 ha
2020under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
20218 haunder 1 ha9 ha
2022under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2023under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
20242 haunder 1 ha2 ha
2025under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha

What is causing deforestation around Burlington?

  • Towns and roadscleared for good53% · 29 ha
  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good20% · 11 ha
  • Unknown causescause unknown27% · 15 ha

Also: logging, mining and energy.

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
8,780 ha
Forest in 2020
9,480 ha
Overall change
+704 hamore forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Burlington grew from about 8,780 hectares to 9,480 hectares, a net gain of about 704 hectares (+8%). New forest grew on about 985 hectares, while 281 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 Burlington

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

  • Oakville

    Canada

    14.3 km
    Tree cover
    44%
    Air quality
    29
  • Milton

    Canada

    15.0 km
    Tree cover
    35%
    Air quality
    53
  • Hamilton

    Canada

    15.2 km
    Tree cover
    28%
    Air quality
    50
  • 25.8 km
    Tree cover
    23%
    Air quality
    58
  • Brampton

    Canada

    33.5 km
    Tree cover
    37%
    Air quality
    22
  • Etobicoke

    Canada

    35.9 km
    Tree cover
    36%
    Air quality
    44

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Burlington air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about Burlington

What is the air quality (AQI) in Burlington right now?

The latest reading for Burlington shows an AQI of 44 (Good), measured Nov 11, 10:00 local time by the Burlington ground monitoring station, 8.4 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Burlington today?

At AQI 44 (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 Burlington been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Burlington's daily AQI at 24 on average, from 11 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 51 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Is Burlington's AQI the same as Canada's AQHI?

No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Canada's Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), from Environment and Climate Change Canada, runs from 1 to 10 and above: 1–3 low risk, 4–6 moderate, 7–10 high and over 10 very high. It combines ozone, nitrogen dioxide and fine particles into one health-risk number, so it isn't a converted AQI, and the two can move differently, especially in wildfire smoke.

How much forest has the area around Burlington lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Burlington has lost about 55 hectares of forest (about 77 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (73%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Burlington grew from about 8,780 hectares to 9,480 hectares, a net gain of about 704 hectares (+8%). New forest grew on about 985 hectares, while 281 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Burlington?

Burlington has an estimated 124,721 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 39.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Burlington need?

Burlington has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.

How are Burlington's air quality and tree cover measured?

Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Burlington, 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 Burlington; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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