City report · Missouri, United States
Kansas City Air quality today
Air quality in Kansas City currently reads AQI 23 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 23
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.7
- tree cover
- 13.8%
- trees in this area
- 41.8K
- more trees needed
- 49.1K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Downtown Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 2, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kansas City · AQI 23 (Good)
Kansas City's tree count comes to 41,793 trees across 4.7 sq mi (12.12 km²) of land, 16 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 49,062 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kansas City today: AQI 23, Good
Main pollutant: Ozone · Observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Troost, 0.6 mi (900 m) away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.7
PM10
23.0
NO₂
—
O₃
49.1
SO₂
2.9
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 Kansas City's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 12 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 109 on Nov 9.
Where Kansas City stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kansas City: Critically low
13.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.7 sq mi (12.12 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
41,793
Target trees
90,855
More trees needed
49,062
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,079 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kansas City lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kansas City has lost about 601 acres (243 hectares) of forest (about 450 football fields): 4.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (94%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 601 acres (243 ha)about 450 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 4.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 568 acres (230 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 80 acres (32 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 | 79 acres (32 ha) | under 1 ha | 80 acres (32 ha) |
| 2002 | 40 acres (16 ha) | under 1 ha | 40 acres (16 ha) |
| 2003 | 10 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 11 acres (5 ha) |
| 2004 | 15 acres (6 ha) | under 1 ha | 16 acres (7 ha) |
| 2005 | 12 acres (5 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 15 acres (6 ha) |
| 2006 | 18 acres (7 ha) | under 1 ha | 20 acres (8 ha) |
| 2007 | 6 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2008 | 30 acres (12 ha) | under 1 ha | 33 acres (13 ha) |
| 2009 | 9 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 10 acres (4 ha) |
| 2010 | 8 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2011 | 5 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2012 | 8 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2013 | 20 acres (8 ha) | 9 acres (4 ha) | 28 acres (12 ha) |
| 2014 | 26 acres (11 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 31 acres (13 ha) |
| 2015 | 5 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2016 | 23 acres (9 ha) | under 1 ha | 24 acres (10 ha) |
| 2017 | 59 acres (24 ha) | under 1 ha | 59 acres (24 ha) |
| 2018 | 4 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2019 | 8 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 9 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 74 acres (30 ha) | under 1 ha | 74 acres (30 ha) |
| 2024 | 38 acres (15 ha) | under 1 ha | 38 acres (15 ha) |
| 2025 | 61 acres (25 ha) | 6 acres (2 ha) | 67 acres (27 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Kansas City?
- Towns and roadscleared for good95% · 568 acres (230 ha)
- Unknown causescause unknown5.4% · 32 acres (13 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
- 27,700 acres (11,200 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 27,900 acres (11,300 ha)
- Overall change
- +198 acres (80 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kansas City stayed about the same size, at about 27,900 acres (11,300 hectares): new forest grew on about 744 acres (301 hectares), and about 546 acres (221 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 Kansas City
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Independence14.1 km
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- Tree cover
- 56%
- Air quality
- 21
- Overland Park15.3 km
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- Tree cover
- 70%
- Air quality
- 13
- Olathe32.0 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 48%
- Air quality
- 26
- Topeka95.1 km
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- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 8
- Columbia194.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 58
- Springfield237.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 17
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kansas City
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kansas City right now?
The latest reading for Kansas City shows an AQI of 23 (Good), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Troost, 0.6 mi (900 m) away). The main pollutant is Ozone. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kansas City today?
At AQI 23 (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 Kansas City been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kansas City's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 12 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 109 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 Kansas City lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kansas City has lost about 601 acres (243 hectares) of forest (about 450 football fields): 4.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (94%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kansas City stayed about the same size, at about 27,900 acres (11,300 hectares): new forest grew on about 744 acres (301 hectares), and about 546 acres (221 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Kansas City?
Kansas City has an estimated 41,793 trees across the 4.7 sq mi (12.12 km²) of land measured — 13.8% tree cover, 16 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kansas City need?
Kansas City needs roughly 49,062 more trees to close a 16-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,079 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Kansas City's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Downtown Kansas City, 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 Kansas City; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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