City report · North Carolina, United States
Greensboro Air quality today
Air quality in Greensboro currently reads AQI 18 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 18
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.5
- tree cover
- 41.5%
- trees in this area
- 130K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Downtown, Greensboro, 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.
Greensboro · AQI 18 (Good)
Greensboro's tree count comes to 130,376 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 Greensboro today: AQI 18, Good
Main pollutant: PM10 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · MENDNHAL, 2.6 mi (4.2 km) away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.5
PM10
19.0
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
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 Greensboro's daily AQI at 27 on average, from 15 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 53 on Nov 10.
Where Greensboro stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Greensboro: Healthy tree cover
41.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
130,376
Target trees
130,376
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Greensboro lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Greensboro has lost about 5,030 acres (2,030 hectares) of forest (about 3,800 football fields): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (80%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 5,030 acres (2,030 ha)about 3,800 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 14%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 4,040 acres (1,640 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 138 acres (56 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 228 acres (92 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2004, when about 526 acres (213 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 | 99 acres (40 ha) | 10 acres (4 ha) | 109 acres (44 ha) |
| 2002 | 217 acres (88 ha) | 42 acres (17 ha) | 259 acres (105 ha) |
| 2003 | 237 acres (96 ha) | 20 acres (8 ha) | 257 acres (104 ha) |
| 2004 | 479 acres (194 ha) | 47 acres (19 ha) | 526 acres (213 ha) |
| 2005 | 272 acres (110 ha) | 10 acres (4 ha) | 282 acres (114 ha) |
| 2006 | 239 acres (97 ha) | 38 acres (15 ha) | 277 acres (112 ha) |
| 2007 | 255 acres (103 ha) | 94 acres (38 ha) | 348 acres (141 ha) |
| 2008 | 96 acres (39 ha) | 11 acres (4 ha) | 106 acres (43 ha) |
| 2009 | 48 acres (20 ha) | 8 acres (3 ha) | 57 acres (23 ha) |
| 2010 | 67 acres (27 ha) | 94 acres (38 ha) | 162 acres (65 ha) |
| 2011 | 76 acres (31 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 80 acres (33 ha) |
| 2012 | 64 acres (26 ha) | 39 acres (16 ha) | 102 acres (41 ha) |
| 2013 | 37 acres (15 ha) | 18 acres (7 ha) | 55 acres (22 ha) |
| 2014 | 160 acres (65 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 165 acres (67 ha) |
| 2015 | 242 acres (98 ha) | 164 acres (66 ha) | 405 acres (164 ha) |
| 2016 | 124 acres (50 ha) | 65 acres (26 ha) | 189 acres (77 ha) |
| 2017 | 175 acres (71 ha) | 50 acres (20 ha) | 225 acres (91 ha) |
| 2018 | 321 acres (130 ha) | 30 acres (12 ha) | 351 acres (142 ha) |
| 2019 | 200 acres (81 ha) | 18 acres (7 ha) | 218 acres (88 ha) |
| 2020 | 120 acres (49 ha) | 39 acres (16 ha) | 158 acres (64 ha) |
| 2021 | 138 acres (56 ha) | 38 acres (15 ha) | 176 acres (71 ha) |
| 2022 | 117 acres (47 ha) | 83 acres (33 ha) | 200 acres (81 ha) |
| 2023 | 56 acres (23 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 62 acres (25 ha) |
| 2024 | 98 acres (40 ha) | 40 acres (16 ha) | 138 acres (56 ha) |
| 2025 | 105 acres (42 ha) | 12 acres (5 ha) | 117 acres (47 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Greensboro?
- Towns and roadscleared for good75% · 3,770 acres (1,520 ha)
- Loggingcan grow back19% · 964 acres (390 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.8% · 192 acres (78 ha)
Also: mining and energy, 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
- 47,800 acres (19,300 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 47,000 acres (19,000 ha)
- Overall change
- −734 acres (297 ha)less forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Greensboro stayed about the same size, at about 47,000 acres (19,000 hectares): new forest grew on about 2,370 acres (961 hectares), and about 3,110 acres (1,260 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 Greensboro
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- High Point23.2 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 18
- Winston-Salem40.7 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 40
- Durham80.8 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 26
- Cary96.2 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 70%
- Air quality
- 22
- Raleigh109.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 47
- Charlotte133.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 51
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Frequently asked
Questions about Greensboro
What is the air quality (AQI) in Greensboro right now?
The latest reading for Greensboro shows an AQI of 18 (Good), measured Nov 11, 10:00 local time by the MENDNHAL ground monitoring station, 2.6 mi (4.2 km) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM10. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Greensboro today?
At AQI 18 (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 Greensboro been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Greensboro's daily AQI at 27 on average, from 15 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 53 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Greensboro lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Greensboro has lost about 5,030 acres (2,030 hectares) of forest (about 3,800 football fields): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (80%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 138 acres (56 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 228 acres (92 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Greensboro stayed about the same size, at about 47,000 acres (19,000 hectares): new forest grew on about 2,370 acres (961 hectares), and about 3,110 acres (1,260 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Greensboro?
Greensboro has an estimated 130,376 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 41.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Greensboro need?
Greensboro has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Greensboro's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Downtown, 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 Downtown; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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