City report · Kentucky, United States
Louisville Air quality today
Air quality in Louisville currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 53
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.0
- tree cover
- 11.4%
- trees in this area
- 27.9K
- more trees needed
- 45.5K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Downtown, Louisville, KY, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 13, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Louisville · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Louisville's tree count comes to 27,863 trees across 3.8 sq mi (9.78 km²) of land, 19 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 45,461 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Louisville today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Algonquin Parkway, 4.0 mi (6.4 km) away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.0
PM10
27.0
NO₂
40.2
O₃
49.1
SO₂
2.6
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirNow
- 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 Louisville's daily AQI at 26 on average, from 13 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 46 on Nov 6.
Where Louisville stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Louisville: Critically low
11.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 3.8 sq mi (9.78 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
27,863
Target trees
73,324
More trees needed
45,461
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,000 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Louisville lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Louisville has lost about 465 acres (188 hectares) of forest (about 350 football fields): 3.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2019: satellite photo from July 2019 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 465 acres (188 ha)about 350 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 3.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 424 acres (172 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 63 acres (26 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 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2002 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2003 | 18 acres (7 ha) | under 1 ha | 19 acres (8 ha) |
| 2004 | 20 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 21 acres (8 ha) |
| 2005 | 22 acres (9 ha) | under 1 ha | 22 acres (9 ha) |
| 2006 | 12 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 14 acres (6 ha) |
| 2007 | 8 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2008 | 57 acres (23 ha) | 6 acres (2 ha) | 63 acres (26 ha) |
| 2009 | 5 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2010 | 13 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 14 acres (6 ha) |
| 2011 | 26 acres (11 ha) | under 1 ha | 29 acres (12 ha) |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | 14 acres (6 ha) | 7 acres (3 ha) | 21 acres (8 ha) |
| 2014 | 9 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2015 | 9 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2016 | 62 acres (25 ha) | under 1 ha | 63 acres (25 ha) |
| 2017 | 32 acres (13 ha) | under 1 ha | 34 acres (14 ha) |
| 2018 | 21 acres (8 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 24 acres (10 ha) |
| 2019 | 14 acres (6 ha) | 2 acres (1 ha) | 16 acres (7 ha) |
| 2020 | 20 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 22 acres (9 ha) |
| 2021 | 10 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 11 acres (4 ha) |
| 2022 | 18 acres (7 ha) | under 1 ha | 18 acres (7 ha) |
| 2023 | 12 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 12 acres (5 ha) |
| 2024 | 2 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2025 | 5 acres (2 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 10 acres (4 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Louisville?
- Towns and roadscleared for good88% · 410 acres (166 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3% · 14 acres (6 ha)
- Loggingcan grow back2.1% · 10 acres (4 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
- 31,400 acres (12,700 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 31,400 acres (12,700 ha)
- Overall change
- +45 acres (18 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Louisville stayed about the same size, at about 31,400 acres (12,700 hectares): new forest grew on about 788 acres (319 hectares), and about 744 acres (301 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 Louisville
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Lexington115.9 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 53%
- Air quality
- 32
- Cincinnati145.2 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 75
- Evansville160.2 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 56
- Indianapolis171.9 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 12%
- Air quality
- 114
- Dayton215.3 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 69
- Clarksville238.2 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 7
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Frequently asked
Questions about Louisville
What is the air quality (AQI) in Louisville right now?
The latest reading for Louisville shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 10:00 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Algonquin Parkway, 4.0 mi (6.4 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Louisville today?
At AQI 53 (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 Louisville been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Louisville's daily AQI at 26 on average, from 13 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 46 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 Louisville lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Louisville has lost about 465 acres (188 hectares) of forest (about 350 football fields): 3.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Louisville stayed about the same size, at about 31,400 acres (12,700 hectares): new forest grew on about 788 acres (319 hectares), and about 744 acres (301 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Louisville?
Louisville has an estimated 27,863 trees across the 3.8 sq mi (9.78 km²) of land measured — 11.4% tree cover, 19 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Louisville need?
Louisville needs roughly 45,461 more trees to close a 19-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,000 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Louisville'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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