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City report · England, United Kingdom

Milton Keynes Air quality today

Air quality in Milton Keynes currently reads AQI 24 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Air quality right now

AQI 24

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
4.4
tree cover
39.6%
trees in this area
124K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Milton Keynes, UK (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Milton Keynes · AQI 24 (Good)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Aug 23, 2026

Milton Keynes's tree count comes to 124,407 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Milton Keynes today: AQI 24, Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Ground station · Milton Keynes, 1.4 mi (2.3 km) away · median of 2 stations

Health signal

Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

PM2.5

4.4

PM10

—

NO₂

—

O₃

—

SO₂

—

CO

—

Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Seb

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 Milton Keynes's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 34 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 8.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 66 · peak 90
Nov 4: AQI 34 (peak 54)Nov 5: AQI 41 (peak 56)Nov 6: AQI 70 (peak 79)Nov 7: AQI 84 (peak 89)Nov 8: AQI 79 (peak 90)Nov 9: AQI 82 (peak 88)Nov 10: AQI 72 (peak 76)
Nov 4Nov 10

This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index

Where Milton Keynes stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Milton Keynes: Healthy tree cover

39.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).

Target reached

Trees in this area

124,407

Target trees

124,407

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Milton Keynes lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Milton Keynes has lost about 63 hectares of forest (about 88 football pitches): 2.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 5 hectares (8.6%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.

Satellite image of the area around Milton Keynes, July 2018

2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
63 haabout 88 football pitches
Share of its forest
2.8%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
5 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

The worst year was 2017, when about 11 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Milton Keynes, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Milton Keynes, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.10.6

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Milton Keynes, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
2001under 1 ha6 ha7 ha
2002under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2003under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2004under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2005under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2006under 1 ha5 ha5 ha
2007under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
20082 ha5 ha7 ha
2009under 1 ha1 ha2 ha
2010under 1 ha7 ha7 ha
2011under 1 ha3 ha3 ha
2012under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2013under 1 ha2 ha2 ha
20141 ha3 ha4 ha
2015under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2016under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2017under 1 ha11 ha11 ha
2018under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2019under 1 ha1 ha1 ha
2020under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2021under 1 ha7 ha8 ha
2022under 1 ha1 ha1 ha
2023under 1 ha1 ha1 ha
2024under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2025under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha

What is causing deforestation around Milton Keynes?

  • Loggingcan grow back74% · 46 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good6.5% · 4 ha
  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.2% · 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
3,180 ha
Forest in 2020
3,660 ha
Overall change
+482 hamore forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Milton Keynes grew from about 3,180 hectares to 3,660 hectares, a net gain of about 482 hectares (+15%). New forest grew on about 532 hectares, while 50 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 Milton Keynes

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

  • Bedford

    United Kingdom

    22.3 km
    Tree cover
    24%
    Air quality
    26
  • Northampton

    United Kingdom

    24.7 km
    Tree cover
    22%
    Air quality
    24
  • Luton

    United Kingdom

    29.4 km
    Tree cover
    24%
    Air quality
    65
  • High Wycombe

    United Kingdom

    45.9 km
    Tree cover
    41%
    Air quality
    83
  • Oxford

    United Kingdom

    47.1 km
    Tree cover
    39%
    Air quality
    62
  • Watford

    United Kingdom

    49.6 km
    Tree cover
    30%
    Air quality
    59

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Milton Keynes air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about Milton Keynes

What is the air quality (AQI) in Milton Keynes right now?

The latest reading for Milton Keynes shows an AQI of 24 (Good), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Milton Keynes, 1.4 mi (2.3 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Milton Keynes today?

At AQI 24 (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 Milton Keynes been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Milton Keynes's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 34 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Is Milton Keynes's AQI the same as the UK's Daily Air Quality Index?

No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. The UK's Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI), published by Defra, runs from 1 to 10: 1–3 low, 4–6 moderate, 7–9 high and 10 very high. It is a different scale altogether, so a US AQI figure can't be read on it directly; both, though, are built from the same main pollutants, with fine particles (PM2.5) usually the one that decides the reading.

How much forest has the area around Milton Keynes lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Milton Keynes has lost about 63 hectares of forest (about 88 football pitches): 2.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 5 hectares (8.6%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Milton Keynes grew from about 3,180 hectares to 3,660 hectares, a net gain of about 482 hectares (+15%). New forest grew on about 532 hectares, while 50 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Milton Keynes?

Milton Keynes has an estimated 124,407 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 39.6% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Milton Keynes need?

Milton Keynes has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.

How are Milton Keynes's air quality and tree cover measured?

Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Milton Keynes, 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 Milton Keynes; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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