City report · Normandy, France
Caen Air quality today
Air quality in Caen currently reads AQI 36 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 36
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.5
- tree cover
- 23.9%
- trees in this area
- 74.4K
- more trees needed
- 19.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Vaugueux, 14000 Caen, France (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Caen · AQI 36 (Good)
Caen's tree count comes to 74,408 trees across 12.46 km² of land, 6 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 18,991 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Caen today: AQI 36, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Caen Chemin-Vert, 2.4 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.5
PM10
11.3
NO₂
9.6
O₃
52.4
SO₂
—
CO
—
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 Caen's daily AQI at 60 on average, from 39 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 83 on Nov 6.
Where Caen stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Caen: Below target
23.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.46 km² of land.
Trees in this area
74,408
Target trees
93,399
More trees needed
18,991
CO₂ if planted / yr
417.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Caen lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Caen has lost about 9 hectares of forest (about 13 football pitches): 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was logging (38%), after which forest can grow back. About 3 hectares (36%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 9 haabout 13 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 3 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 2 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 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 | 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 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 Caen?
- Loggingcan grow back38% · 4 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good31% · 3 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.2% · under 1 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
- 2,610 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,080 ha
- Overall change
- +478 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Caen grew from about 2,610 hectares to 3,080 hectares, a net gain of about 478 hectares (+18%). New forest grew on about 516 hectares, while 37 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 Caen
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Le Havre48.1 km
France
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 31
- Rouen109.5 km
France
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 26
- Saint Helier126.9 km
Jersey
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 36
- Le Mans138.0 km
France
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 46
- Rennes153.7 km
France
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 45
- Saint Peter Port160.6 km
Guernsey
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 21
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Frequently asked
Questions about Caen
What is the air quality (AQI) in Caen right now?
The latest reading for Caen shows an AQI of 36 (Good), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Caen Chemin-Vert, 2.4 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Caen today?
At AQI 36 (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 Caen been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Caen's daily AQI at 60 on average, from 39 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 83 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 Caen lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Caen has lost about 9 hectares of forest (about 13 football pitches): 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was logging (38%), after which forest can grow back. About 3 hectares (36%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Caen grew from about 2,610 hectares to 3,080 hectares, a net gain of about 478 hectares (+18%). New forest grew on about 516 hectares, while 37 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Caen?
Caen has an estimated 74,408 trees across the 12.46 km² of land measured — 23.9% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Caen need?
Caen needs roughly 18,991 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 417.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Caen's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Vaugueux, 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 Vaugueux; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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