City report · Wales, United Kingdom
Cardiff Air quality today
Air quality in Cardiff currently reads AQI 46 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 46
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.2
- tree cover
- 17.0%
- trees in this area
- 53.0K
- more trees needed
- 40.5K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around City Centre, Cardiff, UK (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 11, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cardiff · AQI 46 (Good)
Cardiff's tree count comes to 52,980 trees across 4.8 sq mi (12.47 km²) of land, 13 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 40,514 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cardiff today: AQI 46, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 15:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Cardiff Centre, United Kingdom, 0.2 mi (300 m) away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.2
PM10
20.5
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, UK-AIR, air quality information resource - Defra, UK, Air Quality in Wales
- 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 Cardiff's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 42 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 82 on Nov 9.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index
Where Cardiff stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cardiff: Critically low
17.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.8 sq mi (12.47 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
52,980
Target trees
93,494
More trees needed
40,514
CO₂ if planted / yr
891.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cardiff lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cardiff has lost about 57 hectares of forest (about 79 football pitches): 1.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 1 hectare (2.3%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from June 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 57 haabout 79 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2002, when about 13 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 | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 13 ha | 13 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 | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 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 | under 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 | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 8 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 Cardiff?
- Loggingcan grow back91% · 51 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good2.5% · 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown6.4% · 4 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
- 4,540 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,660 ha
- Overall change
- +120 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cardiff grew from about 4,540 hectares to 4,660 hectares, a net gain of about 120 hectares (+2.6%). New forest grew on about 209 hectares, while 89 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 Cardiff
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Newport17.4 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 60
- Bristol40.5 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 23
- Swansea55.0 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 37
- Bath57.9 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 23
- Gloucester77.5 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 65
- Exeter87.5 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 80
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Frequently asked
Questions about Cardiff
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cardiff right now?
The latest reading for Cardiff shows an AQI of 46 (Good), measured Nov 11, 15:00 local time by the Cardiff Centre, United Kingdom ground monitoring station, 0.2 mi (300 m) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Cardiff 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 Cardiff been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cardiff's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 42 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 82 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Cardiff'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 Cardiff lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cardiff has lost about 57 hectares of forest (about 79 football pitches): 1.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 1 hectare (2.3%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cardiff grew from about 4,540 hectares to 4,660 hectares, a net gain of about 120 hectares (+2.6%). New forest grew on about 209 hectares, while 89 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Cardiff?
Cardiff has an estimated 52,980 trees across the 4.8 sq mi (12.47 km²) of land measured — 17.0% tree cover, 13 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cardiff need?
Cardiff needs roughly 40,514 more trees to close a 13-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 891.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Cardiff's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near City Centre, 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 City Centre; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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