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Airleaf

City report · Ontario, Canada

Oshawa Air quality today

Air quality in Oshawa currently reads AQI 23 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Air quality right now

AQI 23

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
4.1
tree cover
38.1%
trees in this area
120K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 2 km radius around Central Oshawa, Oshawa, ON, Canada (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Sep 12, 2026

Oshawa's tree count comes to 119,695 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Oshawa today: AQI 23, Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via OpenAQ and World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Ground station · Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, 6.3 km away · median of 2 stations

Health signal

Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

PM2.5

4.1

PM10

—

NO₂

7.5

O₃

43.2

SO₂

—

CO

—

Data: OpenAQ · AirNow, World Air Quality Index Project, Air Quality Ontario - the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change

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 Oshawa's daily AQI at 27 on average, from 8 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 52 on Nov 7.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 27 · peak 52
Nov 4: AQI 29 (peak 43)Nov 5: AQI 24 (peak 39)Nov 6: AQI 23 (peak 39)Nov 7: AQI 33 (peak 52)Nov 8: AQI 33 (peak 49)Nov 9: AQI 8 (peak 30)Nov 10: AQI 39 (peak 41)
Nov 4Nov 10

This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Canada's AQHI

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

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Oshawa: Healthy tree cover

38.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².

Target reached

Trees in this area

119,695

Target trees

119,695

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Oshawa lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Oshawa has lost about 196 hectares of forest (about 280 football pitches): 4.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.

Satellite image of the area around Oshawa, September 2017

2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
196 haabout 280 football pitches
Share of its forest
4.5%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
179 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

The worst year was 2016, when about 23 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Oshawa, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Oshawa, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.23.2

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Oshawa, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
200118 haunder 1 ha19 ha
20026 haunder 1 ha6 ha
20037 haunder 1 ha8 ha
200414 ha2 ha16 ha
20058 haunder 1 ha9 ha
200612 haunder 1 ha13 ha
200714 ha1 ha15 ha
20087 haunder 1 ha7 ha
2009under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
20104 haunder 1 ha4 ha
20112 ha2 ha4 ha
20127 haunder 1 ha7 ha
201313 haunder 1 ha14 ha
20147 ha1 ha8 ha
20152 haunder 1 ha2 ha
201623 haunder 1 ha23 ha
20173 haunder 1 ha3 ha
20189 haunder 1 ha9 ha
20192 haunder 1 ha3 ha
20203 haunder 1 ha3 ha
20216 ha6 ha11 ha
20224 haunder 1 ha4 ha
20235 haunder 1 ha5 ha
20242 haunder 1 ha2 ha
20252 haunder 1 ha3 ha

What is causing deforestation around Oshawa?

  • Towns and roadscleared for good84% · 166 ha
  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good6.6% · 13 ha
  • Loggingcan grow back4.8% · 10 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
7,410 ha
Forest in 2020
7,640 ha
Overall change
+232 hamore forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Oshawa grew from about 7,410 hectares to 7,640 hectares, a net gain of about 232 hectares (+3.1%). New forest grew on about 400 hectares, while 168 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 Oshawa

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

  • Ajax

    Canada

    15.7 km
    Tree cover
    23%
    Air quality
    6
  • Markham

    Canada

    33.6 km
    Tree cover
    39%
    Air quality
    36
  • Toronto

    Canada

    50.9 km
    Tree cover
    16%
    Air quality
    60
  • Vaughan

    Canada

    52.5 km
    Tree cover
    19%
    Air quality
    33
  • Etobicoke

    Canada

    64.5 km
    Tree cover
    36%
    Air quality
    44
  • 74.1 km
    Tree cover
    23%
    Air quality
    58

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

Questions about Oshawa

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

The latest reading for Oshawa shows an AQI of 23 (Good), measured Nov 11, 10:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, 6.3 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Oshawa today?

At AQI 23 (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 Oshawa been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Oshawa's daily AQI at 27 on average, from 8 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 52 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Is Oshawa's AQI the same as Canada's AQHI?

No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Canada's Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), from Environment and Climate Change Canada, runs from 1 to 10 and above: 1–3 low risk, 4–6 moderate, 7–10 high and over 10 very high. It combines ozone, nitrogen dioxide and fine particles into one health-risk number, so it isn't a converted AQI, and the two can move differently, especially in wildfire smoke.

How much forest has the area around Oshawa lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Oshawa has lost about 196 hectares of forest (about 280 football pitches): 4.5% 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 Oshawa grew from about 7,410 hectares to 7,640 hectares, a net gain of about 232 hectares (+3.1%). New forest grew on about 400 hectares, while 168 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Oshawa?

Oshawa has an estimated 119,695 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 38.1% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Oshawa need?

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

How are Oshawa's air quality and tree cover measured?

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

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