City report · Hauts-de-France, France
Lille Air quality today
Air quality in Lille currently reads AQI 100 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 100
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 35.4
- tree cover
- 27.1%
- trees in this area
- 84.8K
- more trees needed
- 9.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Lille-Centre, Lille, France (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 6, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Lille · AQI 100 (Moderate)
Lille's tree count comes to 84,797 trees across 12.52 km² of land, 3 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 9,074 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Lille today: AQI 100, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Hellemmes, 3.7 km away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
35.4
PM10
15.0
NO₂
18.6
O₃
2.7
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Clarity, 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 Lille's daily AQI at 77 on average, from 60 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 120 on Nov 6.
Where Lille stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Lille: Below target
27.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.52 km² of land.
Trees in this area
84,797
Target trees
93,871
More trees needed
9,074
CO₂ if planted / yr
199.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Lille lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Lille has lost about 56 hectares of forest (about 78 football pitches): 2.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 12 hectares (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 56 haabout 78 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 12 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 12 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 | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 12 ha |
| 2009 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2021 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Lille?
- Loggingcan grow back61% · 34 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good22% · 12 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.1% · under 1 ha
Also: 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
- 8,100 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,970 ha
- Overall change
- +867 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Lille grew from about 8,100 hectares to 8,970 hectares, a net gain of about 867 hectares (+11%). New forest grew on about 957 hectares, while 91 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 Lille
What is the air quality (AQI) in Lille right now?
The latest reading for Lille shows an AQI of 100 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Hellemmes, 3.7 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Lille today?
At AQI 100 (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 Lille been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Lille's daily AQI at 77 on average, from 60 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 120 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Lille lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Lille has lost about 56 hectares of forest (about 78 football pitches): 2.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 12 hectares (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Lille grew from about 8,100 hectares to 8,970 hectares, a net gain of about 867 hectares (+11%). New forest grew on about 957 hectares, while 91 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Lille?
Lille has an estimated 84,797 trees across the 12.52 km² of land measured — 27.1% tree cover, 3 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Lille need?
Lille needs roughly 9,074 more trees to close a 3-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 199.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Lille's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Lille-Centre, 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 Lille-Centre; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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