City report · North Carolina, United States
Charlotte Air quality today
Air quality in Charlotte currently reads AQI 51 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 51
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.2
- tree cover
- 26.6%
- trees in this area
- 83.6K
- more trees needed
- 10.7K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Second Ward, Charlotte, 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.
Charlotte · AQI 51 (Moderate)
Charlotte's tree count comes to 83,566 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), 3 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 10,681 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Charlotte today: AQI 51, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Garinger, 3.5 mi (5.7 km) away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.2
PM10
18.0
NO₂
39.5
O₃
19.6
SO₂
0.3
CO
859.2
Data: OpenAQ · AirNow
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Charlotte's daily AQI at 48 on average, from 29 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 121 on Nov 10.
Where Charlotte stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Charlotte: Below target
26.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
83,566
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
10,681
CO₂ if planted / yr
235.0 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Charlotte lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Charlotte has lost about 5,210 acres (2,110 hectares) of forest (about 3,900 football fields): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 5,210 acres (2,110 ha)about 3,900 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 14%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 5,200 acres (2,100 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 257 acres (104 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 218 acres (88 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2025, when about 358 acres (145 hectares) of forest were lost.
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 250 acres (101 ha) | under 1 ha | 250 acres (101 ha) |
| 2002 | 292 acres (118 ha) | under 1 ha | 292 acres (118 ha) |
| 2003 | 252 acres (102 ha) | under 1 ha | 252 acres (102 ha) |
| 2004 | 245 acres (99 ha) | under 1 ha | 245 acres (99 ha) |
| 2005 | 264 acres (107 ha) | under 1 ha | 264 acres (107 ha) |
| 2006 | 206 acres (83 ha) | under 1 ha | 207 acres (84 ha) |
| 2007 | 235 acres (95 ha) | under 1 ha | 235 acres (95 ha) |
| 2008 | 153 acres (62 ha) | under 1 ha | 155 acres (63 ha) |
| 2009 | 84 acres (34 ha) | under 1 ha | 84 acres (34 ha) |
| 2010 | 209 acres (84 ha) | under 1 ha | 209 acres (85 ha) |
| 2011 | 67 acres (27 ha) | under 1 ha | 67 acres (27 ha) |
| 2012 | 52 acres (21 ha) | under 1 ha | 52 acres (21 ha) |
| 2013 | 112 acres (45 ha) | under 1 ha | 113 acres (46 ha) |
| 2014 | 199 acres (81 ha) | under 1 ha | 200 acres (81 ha) |
| 2015 | 214 acres (87 ha) | under 1 ha | 214 acres (87 ha) |
| 2016 | 189 acres (77 ha) | under 1 ha | 189 acres (77 ha) |
| 2017 | 257 acres (104 ha) | under 1 ha | 257 acres (104 ha) |
| 2018 | 210 acres (85 ha) | under 1 ha | 210 acres (85 ha) |
| 2019 | 172 acres (70 ha) | under 1 ha | 172 acres (70 ha) |
| 2020 | 262 acres (106 ha) | under 1 ha | 262 acres (106 ha) |
| 2021 | 343 acres (139 ha) | 2 acres (1 ha) | 346 acres (140 ha) |
| 2022 | 217 acres (88 ha) | under 1 ha | 218 acres (88 ha) |
| 2023 | 190 acres (77 ha) | under 1 ha | 190 acres (77 ha) |
| 2024 | 173 acres (70 ha) | under 1 ha | 174 acres (70 ha) |
| 2025 | 351 acres (142 ha) | 7 acres (3 ha) | 358 acres (145 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Charlotte?
- Towns and roadscleared for goodover 99% · 5,200 acres (2,100 ha)
Also: logging, 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
- 50,100 acres (20,300 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 49,500 acres (20,000 ha)
- Overall change
- −613 acres (248 ha)less forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Charlotte stayed about the same size, at about 49,500 acres (20,000 hectares): new forest grew on about 1,810 acres (734 hectares), and about 2,430 acres (982 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 Charlotte
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- High Point110.9 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 18
- Winston-Salem111.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 40
- Greensboro133.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 18
- Columbia137.5 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 63
- Fayetteville179.7 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 18
- Durham195.4 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 26
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Frequently asked
Questions about Charlotte
What is the air quality (AQI) in Charlotte right now?
The latest reading for Charlotte shows an AQI of 51 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Garinger, 3.5 mi (5.7 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Charlotte today?
At AQI 51 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Charlotte been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Charlotte's daily AQI at 48 on average, from 29 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 121 on Nov 10. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Charlotte lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Charlotte has lost about 5,210 acres (2,110 hectares) of forest (about 3,900 football fields): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 257 acres (104 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 218 acres (88 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Charlotte stayed about the same size, at about 49,500 acres (20,000 hectares): new forest grew on about 1,810 acres (734 hectares), and about 2,430 acres (982 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Charlotte?
Charlotte has an estimated 83,566 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 26.6% tree cover, 3 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Charlotte need?
Charlotte needs roughly 10,681 more trees to close a 3-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 235.0 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Charlotte's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Second Ward, 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 Second Ward; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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