City report · Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Kiel Air quality today
Air quality in Kiel currently reads AQI 59 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 59
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 13.6
- tree cover
- 34.9%
- trees in this area
- 96.4K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Vorstadt, Mitte, Kiel, Germany (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 22, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kiel · AQI 59 (Moderate)
Kiel's tree count comes to 96,375 trees across 11.05 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kiel today: AQI 59, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Kiel-Bahnhofstr. Verk., 1.8 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
13.6
PM10
20.0
NO₂
26.2
O₃
20.4
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Kiel's daily AQI at 56 on average, from 21 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 87 on Nov 8.
Where Kiel stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kiel: Healthy tree cover
34.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.05 km² of land.
Trees in this area
96,375
Target trees
96,375
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kiel lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kiel has lost about 41 hectares of forest (about 58 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 4 hectares (11%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from June 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 41 haabout 58 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 4 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 7 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 | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | 6 ha | 7 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kiel?
- Loggingcan grow back69% · 29 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good11% · 5 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown20% · 8 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations.
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
- 4,220 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,700 ha
- Overall change
- +482 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kiel grew from about 4,220 hectares to 4,700 hectares, a net gain of about 482 hectares (+11%). New forest grew on about 511 hectares, while 29 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kiel
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kiel right now?
The latest reading for Kiel shows an AQI of 59 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Kiel-Bahnhofstr. Verk., 1.8 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kiel today?
At AQI 59 (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 Kiel been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kiel's daily AQI at 56 on average, from 21 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 87 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Kiel lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kiel has lost about 41 hectares of forest (about 58 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 4 hectares (11%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kiel grew from about 4,220 hectares to 4,700 hectares, a net gain of about 482 hectares (+11%). New forest grew on about 511 hectares, while 29 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kiel?
Kiel has an estimated 96,375 trees across the 11.05 km² of land measured — 34.9% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kiel need?
Kiel has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kiel's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Vorstadt, 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 Vorstadt; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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