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City report · North Carolina, United States

Cary Air quality today

Air quality in Cary currently reads AQI 22 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Air quality right now

AQI 22

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
4.0
tree cover
69.8%
trees in this area
219K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Cary, NC, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Cary · AQI 22 (Good)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Sep 14, 2026

Cary's tree count comes to 219,283 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Cary today: AQI 22, 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 · Triple Oak - Near Ro, 5.5 mi (8.9 km) away

Health signal

Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

PM2.5

4.0

PM10

—

NO₂

22.4

O₃

—

SO₂

—

CO

458.2

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 Cary's daily AQI at 35 on average, from 24 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 9.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 35 · peak 61
Nov 4: AQI 39 (peak 52)Nov 5: AQI 35 (peak 46)Nov 6: AQI 24 (peak 58)Nov 7: AQI 33 (peak 57)Nov 8: AQI 39 (peak 49)Nov 9: AQI 31 (peak 61)Nov 10: AQI 44 (peak 58)
Nov 4Nov 10

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

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Cary: Healthy tree cover

69.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).

Target reached

Trees in this area

219,283

Target trees

219,283

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Cary lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cary has lost about 7,650 acres (3,100 hectares) of forest (about 5,800 football fields): 18% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.

Satellite image of the area around Cary, August 2018

2018: satellite photo from August 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
7,650 acres (3,100 ha)about 5,800 football fields
Share of its forest
18%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
7,410 acres (3,000 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

Forest loss is slowing down: about 166 acres (67 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 328 acres (133 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2006, when about 680 acres (275 hectares) of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Cary, 2001–2025

Acres of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Cary, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.680

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Cary, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
2001368 acres (149 ha)2 acres (1 ha)371 acres (150 ha)
2002452 acres (183 ha)under 1 ha452 acres (183 ha)
2003277 acres (112 ha)under 1 ha277 acres (112 ha)
2004536 acres (217 ha)under 1 ha536 acres (217 ha)
2005566 acres (229 ha)2 acres (1 ha)568 acres (230 ha)
2006677 acres (274 ha)2 acres (1 ha)680 acres (275 ha)
2007398 acres (161 ha)under 1 ha398 acres (161 ha)
2008324 acres (131 ha)5 acres (2 ha)329 acres (133 ha)
2009120 acres (49 ha)under 1 ha120 acres (49 ha)
2010289 acres (117 ha)2 acres (1 ha)292 acres (118 ha)
2011215 acres (87 ha)71 acres (29 ha)287 acres (116 ha)
2012277 acres (112 ha)2 acres (1 ha)279 acres (113 ha)
2013228 acres (92 ha)under 1 ha230 acres (93 ha)
2014168 acres (68 ha)under 1 ha169 acres (68 ha)
2015193 acres (78 ha)under 1 ha193 acres (78 ha)
2016395 acres (160 ha)under 1 ha395 acres (160 ha)
2017393 acres (159 ha)15 acres (6 ha)408 acres (165 ha)
2018358 acres (145 ha)49 acres (20 ha)408 acres (165 ha)
2019194 acres (78 ha)42 acres (17 ha)236 acres (95 ha)
2020192 acres (78 ha)under 1 ha195 acres (79 ha)
2021165 acres (67 ha)under 1 ha166 acres (67 ha)
2022155 acres (63 ha)11 acres (4 ha)166 acres (67 ha)
2023235 acres (95 ha)under 1 ha235 acres (95 ha)
2024105 acres (42 ha)under 1 ha107 acres (43 ha)
2025130 acres (53 ha)27 acres (11 ha)157 acres (63 ha)

What is causing deforestation around Cary?

  • Towns and roadscleared for good95% · 7,280 acres (2,950 ha)
  • Loggingcan grow back2.6% · 198 acres (80 ha)
  • Mining and energycleared for good1.3% · 99 acres (40 ha)

Also: farms, pasture and plantations, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
54,200 acres (21,900 ha)
Forest in 2020
53,700 acres (21,700 ha)
Overall change
−502 acres (203 ha)less forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cary stayed about the same size, at about 53,700 acres (21,700 hectares): new forest grew on about 3,760 acres (1,520 hectares), and about 4,270 acres (1,730 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 Cary

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

  • Raleigh

    United States

    13.0 km
    Tree cover
    41%
    Air quality
    47
  • Durham

    United States

    24.9 km
    Tree cover
    49%
    Air quality
    26
  • Fayetteville

    United States

    82.6 km
    Tree cover
    43%
    Air quality
    18
  • Greensboro

    United States

    96.2 km
    Tree cover
    42%
    Air quality
    18
  • High Point

    United States

    111.8 km
    Tree cover
    42%
    Air quality
    18
  • Winston-Salem

    United States

    136.1 km
    Tree cover
    37%
    Air quality
    40

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

Questions about Cary

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

The latest reading for Cary shows an AQI of 22 (Good), measured Nov 11, 10:00 local time by the Triple Oak - Near Ro ground monitoring station, 5.5 mi (8.9 km) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Cary today?

At AQI 22 (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 Cary been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cary's daily AQI at 35 on average, from 24 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

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

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cary has lost about 7,650 acres (3,100 hectares) of forest (about 5,800 football fields): 18% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 166 acres (67 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 328 acres (133 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cary stayed about the same size, at about 53,700 acres (21,700 hectares): new forest grew on about 3,760 acres (1,520 hectares), and about 4,270 acres (1,730 hectares) were lost.

What is the tree count in Cary?

Cary has an estimated 219,283 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 69.8% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Cary need?

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

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

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

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