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Air quality now: AQI46Good, Cambridge

City report · England, United Kingdom

Cambridge Air quality today

Air quality in Cambridge currently reads AQI 46 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

AQI 46

Air quality right now

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
8.3
tree cover
29.7%
trees in this area
93.3K
more trees needed
942

Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Central Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Cambridge · AQI 46 (Good)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Aug 25, 2026

Cambridge's tree count comes to 93,305 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), 0 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 942 more trees would close the gap.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Cambridge today: AQI 46, 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 · Newnham, 0.4 mi (600 m) away · median of 5 stations

Health signal

Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

PM2.5

8.3

PM10

—

NO₂

—

O₃

—

SO₂

—

CO

—

Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Potato Smogger

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 Cambridge's daily AQI at 64 on average, from 32 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 85 on Nov 8.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 64 · peak 85
Nov 4: AQI 32 (peak 52)Nov 5: AQI 40 (peak 58)Nov 6: AQI 67 (peak 77)Nov 7: AQI 77 (peak 81)Nov 8: AQI 77 (peak 85)Nov 9: AQI 79 (peak 80)Nov 10: AQI 77 (peak 78)
Nov 4Nov 10

This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index

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

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Cambridge: Below target

29.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).

0 points below target

Trees in this area

93,305

Target trees

94,247

More trees needed

942

CO₂ if planted / yr

20.7 t

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Cambridge lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cambridge has lost about 10 hectares of forest (about 13 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was towns and roads (16%). About 2 hectares (16%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.

Satellite image of the area around Cambridge, August 2018

2018: satellite photo from August 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
10 haabout 13 football pitches
Share of its forest
under 1%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
2 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

The worst year was 2008, when about 2 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Cambridge, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Cambridge, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.2.4

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Cambridge, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
2001under 1 ha1 ha1 ha
2002under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2003under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2004under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2005under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2006under 1 ha1 ha1 ha
2007under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2008under 1 ha2 ha2 ha
2009under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 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 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2017under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2018under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2019under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2020under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2021under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2022under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2023under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2024under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2025under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha

What is causing deforestation around Cambridge?

  • Towns and roadscleared for good16% · 2 ha
  • Unknown causescause unknown84% · 8 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
1,150 ha
Forest in 2020
1,410 ha
Overall change
+260 hamore forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cambridge grew from about 1,150 hectares to 1,410 hectares, a net gain of about 260 hectares (+23%). New forest grew on about 280 hectares, while 20 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 Cambridge

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

  • Bedford

    United Kingdom

    40.4 km
    Tree cover
    24%
    Air quality
    26
  • Peterborough

    United Kingdom

    48.3 km
    Tree cover
    24%
    Air quality
    24
  • Luton

    United Kingdom

    51.0 km
    Tree cover
    24%
    Air quality
    65
  • Chelmsford

    United Kingdom

    57.0 km
    Tree cover
    24%
    Air quality
    51
  • Milton Keynes

    United Kingdom

    62.1 km
    Tree cover
    40%
    Air quality
    24
  • Enfield Town

    United Kingdom

    62.5 km
    Tree cover
    31%
    Air quality
    76

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

Questions about Cambridge

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

The latest reading for Cambridge shows an AQI of 46 (Good), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 5 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Newnham, 0.4 mi (600 m) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Cambridge today?

At AQI 46 (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 Cambridge been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cambridge's daily AQI at 64 on average, from 32 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 85 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Is Cambridge's AQI the same as the UK's Daily Air Quality Index?

No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. The UK's Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI), published by Defra, runs from 1 to 10: 1–3 low, 4–6 moderate, 7–9 high and 10 very high. It is a different scale altogether, so a US AQI figure can't be read on it directly; both, though, are built from the same main pollutants, with fine particles (PM2.5) usually the one that decides the reading.

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

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cambridge has lost about 10 hectares of forest (about 13 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was towns and roads (16%). About 2 hectares (16%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cambridge grew from about 1,150 hectares to 1,410 hectares, a net gain of about 260 hectares (+23%). New forest grew on about 280 hectares, while 20 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Cambridge?

Cambridge has an estimated 93,305 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 29.7% tree cover, 0 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Cambridge need?

Cambridge needs roughly 942 more trees to close a 0-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 20.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.

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

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

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