City report · California, United States
Palmdale Air quality today
Air quality in Palmdale currently reads AQI 17 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 17
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 3.0
- tree cover
- 4.1%
- trees in this area
- 12.9K
- more trees needed
- 81.4K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Palmdale, CA, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Palmdale · AQI 17 (Good)
Palmdale's tree count comes to 12,881 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), 26 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 81,367 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Palmdale today: AQI 17, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 06:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Lancaster-Fairground, 10.7 mi (17.2 km) away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
3.0
PM10
—
NO₂
10.0
O₃
17.7
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 Palmdale's daily AQI at 28 on average, from 21 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 68 on Nov 4.
Where Palmdale stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Palmdale: Critically low
4.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
12,881
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
81,367
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,790 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Palmdale lost?
There was very little forest around Palmdale in 2000, about 39 acres (16 hectares), and about 8 acres (3 hectares) of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 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 | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Palmdale?
- Towns and roadscleared for good28% · under 1 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back13% · under 1 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good9.4% · 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
- 845 acres (342 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 944 acres (382 ha)
- Overall change
- +99 acres (40 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Palmdale grew from about 845 acres (342 hectares) to 944 acres (382 hectares), a net gain of about 99 acres (40 hectares) (+12%). New forest grew on about 106 acres (43 hectares), while 8 acres (3 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 Palmdale
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Lancaster13.3 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 17
- Santa Clarita44.3 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 13
- Valencia47.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 13
- Burbank47.7 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 34
- Pasadena48.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 26
- Van Nuys53.3 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 34
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Frequently asked
Questions about Palmdale
What is the air quality (AQI) in Palmdale right now?
The latest reading for Palmdale shows an AQI of 17 (Good), measured Nov 11, 06:00 local time by the Lancaster-Fairground ground monitoring station, 10.7 mi (17.2 km) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Palmdale today?
At AQI 17 (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 Palmdale been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Palmdale's daily AQI at 28 on average, from 21 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 68 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 Palmdale lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Palmdale in 2000, about 39 acres (16 hectares), and about 8 acres (3 hectares) of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Palmdale grew from about 845 acres (342 hectares) to 944 acres (382 hectares), a net gain of about 99 acres (40 hectares) (+12%). New forest grew on about 106 acres (43 hectares), while 8 acres (3 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Palmdale?
Palmdale has an estimated 12,881 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 4.1% tree cover, 26 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Palmdale need?
Palmdale needs roughly 81,367 more trees to close a 26-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,790 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Palmdale's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Palmdale, 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 Palmdale; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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