City report · Massachusetts, United States
Lowell Air quality today
Air quality in Lowell currently reads AQI 19 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 19
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 1.8
- tree cover
- 30.5%
- trees in this area
- 94.8K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Highlands, Lowell, MA, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Lowell · AQI 19 (Good)
Lowell's tree count comes to 94,765 trees across 4.8 sq mi (12.43 km²) of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Lowell today: AQI 19, Good
Main pollutant: Ozone · Observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Chelmsford - Manning, 1.6 mi (2.5 km) away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
1.8
PM10
—
NO₂
13.2
O₃
41.2
SO₂
—
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 Lowell's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 20 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 4.
Where Lowell stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Lowell: Healthy tree cover
30.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.8 sq mi (12.43 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
94,765
Target trees
94,765
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Lowell lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Lowell has lost about 2,720 acres (1,100 hectares) of forest (about 2,100 football fields): 5.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (96%) 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 west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,720 acres (1,100 ha)about 2,100 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 5.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 2,610 acres (1,060 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 75 acres (30 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 153 acres (62 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 204 acres (82 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 | 192 acres (78 ha) | 9 acres (4 ha) | 201 acres (81 ha) |
| 2002 | 105 acres (42 ha) | under 1 ha | 107 acres (43 ha) |
| 2003 | 74 acres (30 ha) | under 1 ha | 75 acres (30 ha) |
| 2004 | 159 acres (65 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 163 acres (66 ha) |
| 2005 | 142 acres (58 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 146 acres (59 ha) |
| 2006 | 157 acres (64 ha) | under 1 ha | 158 acres (64 ha) |
| 2007 | 86 acres (35 ha) | under 1 ha | 88 acres (36 ha) |
| 2008 | 115 acres (47 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 118 acres (48 ha) |
| 2009 | 66 acres (27 ha) | under 1 ha | 66 acres (27 ha) |
| 2010 | 119 acres (48 ha) | under 1 ha | 121 acres (49 ha) |
| 2011 | 57 acres (23 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 62 acres (25 ha) |
| 2012 | 121 acres (49 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 124 acres (50 ha) |
| 2013 | 46 acres (19 ha) | under 1 ha | 47 acres (19 ha) |
| 2014 | 45 acres (18 ha) | under 1 ha | 45 acres (18 ha) |
| 2015 | 64 acres (26 ha) | under 1 ha | 64 acres (26 ha) |
| 2016 | 198 acres (80 ha) | 6 acres (2 ha) | 204 acres (82 ha) |
| 2017 | 151 acres (61 ha) | 47 acres (19 ha) | 198 acres (80 ha) |
| 2018 | 132 acres (54 ha) | 8 acres (3 ha) | 140 acres (57 ha) |
| 2019 | 116 acres (47 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 120 acres (49 ha) |
| 2020 | 100 acres (41 ha) | under 1 ha | 102 acres (41 ha) |
| 2021 | 99 acres (40 ha) | under 1 ha | 100 acres (40 ha) |
| 2022 | 94 acres (38 ha) | under 1 ha | 95 acres (38 ha) |
| 2023 | 77 acres (31 ha) | under 1 ha | 77 acres (31 ha) |
| 2024 | 52 acres (21 ha) | under 1 ha | 52 acres (21 ha) |
| 2025 | 45 acres (18 ha) | 6 acres (3 ha) | 51 acres (21 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Lowell?
- Towns and roadscleared for good96% · 2,610 acres (1,060 ha)
- Loggingcan grow back2.9% · 79 acres (32 ha)
- Unknown causescause unknown1.2% · 31 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
- 53,100 acres (21,500 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 53,200 acres (21,500 ha)
- Overall change
- +143 acres (58 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Lowell stayed about the same size, at about 53,200 acres (21,500 hectares): new forest grew on about 1,500 acres (607 hectares), and about 1,350 acres (548 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 Lowell
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Boston37.1 km
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- 12%
- Air quality
- 18
- Manchester41.8 km
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- Air quality
- 20
- Worcester57.4 km
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- Air quality
- 21
- Providence90.4 km
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- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 31
- New Bedford115.5 km
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- Tree cover
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- Air quality
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- Springfield120.2 km
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- Tree cover
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- Air quality
- 12
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Frequently asked
Questions about Lowell
What is the air quality (AQI) in Lowell right now?
The latest reading for Lowell shows an AQI of 19 (Good), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Chelmsford - Manning, 1.6 mi (2.5 km) away). The main pollutant is Ozone. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Lowell today?
At AQI 19 (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 Lowell been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Lowell's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 20 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Lowell lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Lowell has lost about 2,720 acres (1,100 hectares) of forest (about 2,100 football fields): 5.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (96%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 75 acres (30 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 153 acres (62 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Lowell stayed about the same size, at about 53,200 acres (21,500 hectares): new forest grew on about 1,500 acres (607 hectares), and about 1,350 acres (548 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Lowell?
Lowell has an estimated 94,765 trees across the 4.8 sq mi (12.43 km²) of land measured — 30.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Lowell need?
Lowell has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Lowell's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Highlands, 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 Highlands; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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