City report · Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Freiburg Air quality today
Air quality in Freiburg currently reads AQI 3 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 3
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 0.5
- tree cover
- 53.1%
- trees in this area
- 167K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Altstadt, Mitte, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Freiburg · AQI 3 (Good)
Freiburg's tree count comes to 166,819 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Freiburg today: AQI 3, 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 · Schauinsland, 10 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
0.5
PM10
—
NO₂
0.6
O₃
—
SO₂
0.1
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 Freiburg's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 26 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 73 on Nov 7.
Where Freiburg stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Freiburg: Healthy tree cover
53.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
166,819
Target trees
166,819
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Freiburg lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Freiburg has lost about 720 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): 4.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 36 hectares (5%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 720 haabout 1,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 36 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2025, when about 70 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 | 12 ha | 12 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 11 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 30 ha | 31 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2007 | 1 ha | 22 ha | 23 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 24 ha | 25 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 32 ha | 34 ha |
| 2010 | 4 ha | 12 ha | 16 ha |
| 2011 | 2 ha | 22 ha | 24 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | 60 ha | 63 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 12 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | 21 ha | 22 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | 6 ha | 9 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 16 ha | 16 ha |
| 2017 | 1 ha | 31 ha | 32 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | 35 ha | 38 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 29 ha | 30 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 47 ha | 48 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 57 ha | 57 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | 26 ha | 28 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | 48 ha | 49 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | 43 ha | 44 ha |
| 2025 | 3 ha | 67 ha | 70 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Freiburg?
- Loggingcan grow back92% · 663 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good4.9% · 36 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown3% · 22 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
- 18,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 18,300 ha
- Overall change
- −12 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Freiburg stayed about the same size, at about 18,300 hectares: new forest grew on about 175 hectares, and about 188 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 Freiburg
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Mulhouse47.5 km
France
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 49
- Basel52.9 km
Switzerland
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 47
- Strasbourg65.9 km
France
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 148
- Winterthur85.0 km
Switzerland
- Tree cover
- 61%
- Air quality
- 54
- Zürich87.3 km
Switzerland
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 31
- Reutlingen114.3 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 19
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Frequently asked
Questions about Freiburg
What is the air quality (AQI) in Freiburg right now?
The latest reading for Freiburg shows an AQI of 3 (Good), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by the Schauinsland ground monitoring station, 10 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Freiburg today?
At AQI 3 (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 Freiburg been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Freiburg's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 26 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 73 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Freiburg lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Freiburg has lost about 720 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): 4.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 36 hectares (5%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Freiburg stayed about the same size, at about 18,300 hectares: new forest grew on about 175 hectares, and about 188 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Freiburg?
Freiburg has an estimated 166,819 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 53.1% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Freiburg need?
Freiburg has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Freiburg's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Altstadt, 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 Altstadt; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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