City report · Norway
Kristiansand Air quality today
Air quality in Kristiansand currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 55
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.6
- tree cover
- 42.0%
- trees in this area
- 92.2K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kvadraturen, Kristiansand, Norway (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 13, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kristiansand · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Kristiansand's tree count comes to 92,231 trees across 8.79 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kristiansand today: AQI 55, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 01:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Stavanger and Aalborg
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.6
PM10
6.9
NO₂
4.3
O₃
52.0
SO₂
0.4
CO
175.0
- 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 Kristiansand's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 28 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 75 on Nov 9.
Where Kristiansand stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kristiansand: Healthy tree cover
42.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 8.79 km² of land.
Trees in this area
92,231
Target trees
92,231
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kristiansand lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kristiansand has lost about 1,390 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): 7.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) 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
- 1,390 haabout 1,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 7.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 780 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 81 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 77 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 186 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 | 25 ha | 6 ha | 31 ha |
| 2002 | 11 ha | 9 ha | 19 ha |
| 2003 | 14 ha | 3 ha | 17 ha |
| 2004 | 12 ha | 7 ha | 18 ha |
| 2005 | 11 ha | 21 ha | 33 ha |
| 2006 | 21 ha | 8 ha | 29 ha |
| 2007 | 58 ha | 16 ha | 74 ha |
| 2008 | 19 ha | 5 ha | 24 ha |
| 2009 | 31 ha | 3 ha | 34 ha |
| 2010 | 55 ha | 18 ha | 74 ha |
| 2011 | 44 ha | 19 ha | 63 ha |
| 2012 | 35 ha | 18 ha | 53 ha |
| 2013 | 28 ha | 28 ha | 56 ha |
| 2014 | 9 ha | 32 ha | 41 ha |
| 2015 | 24 ha | 13 ha | 37 ha |
| 2016 | 25 ha | 16 ha | 41 ha |
| 2017 | 15 ha | 6 ha | 21 ha |
| 2018 | 30 ha | 4 ha | 33 ha |
| 2019 | 96 ha | 90 ha | 186 ha |
| 2020 | 63 ha | 40 ha | 103 ha |
| 2021 | 46 ha | 39 ha | 85 ha |
| 2022 | 26 ha | 27 ha | 53 ha |
| 2023 | 34 ha | 50 ha | 84 ha |
| 2024 | 22 ha | 66 ha | 88 ha |
| 2025 | 27 ha | 69 ha | 95 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kristiansand?
- Towns and roadscleared for good51% · 713 ha
- Loggingcan grow back42% · 582 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good4.8% · 67 ha
Also: wildfires, 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
- 16,800 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 16,100 ha
- Overall change
- −664 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kristiansand shrank from about 16,800 hectares to 16,100 hectares, a net loss of about 664 hectares (−4%). New forest grew on about 150 hectares, but 814 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 Kristiansand
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Aalborg167.5 km
Denmark
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 37
- Drammen218.1 km
Norway
- Tree cover
- 48%
- Air quality
- 55
- Gothenburg239.5 km
Sweden
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 17
- Oslo251.6 km
Norway
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 59
- Århus258.5 km
Denmark
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 59
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kristiansand
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kristiansand right now?
The latest reading for Kristiansand shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 01:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kristiansand today?
At AQI 55 (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 Kristiansand been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kristiansand's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 28 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 75 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 Kristiansand lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kristiansand has lost about 1,390 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): 7.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 81 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 77 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kristiansand shrank from about 16,800 hectares to 16,100 hectares, a net loss of about 664 hectares (−4%). New forest grew on about 150 hectares, but 814 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kristiansand?
Kristiansand has an estimated 92,231 trees across the 8.79 km² of land measured — 42.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kristiansand need?
Kristiansand has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kristiansand's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Kvadraturen; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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