City report · England, United Kingdom
Peterborough Air quality today
Air quality in Peterborough currently reads AQI 26 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 26
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.7
- tree cover
- 24.0%
- trees in this area
- 75.4K
- more trees needed
- 18.9K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Peterborough, UK (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 13, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Peterborough · AQI 26 (Good)
Peterborough's tree count comes to 75,398 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), 6 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 18,850 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Peterborough today: AQI 26, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Crowland, lincolnshire, 8.1 mi (13 km) away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.7
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient
- 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 Peterborough's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 30 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 94 on Nov 9.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index
Where Peterborough stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Peterborough: Below target
24.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
75,398
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
18,850
CO₂ if planted / yr
414.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Peterborough lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Peterborough has lost about 22 hectares of forest (about 31 football pitches): 1.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 1 hectare (6.4%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 22 haabout 31 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 6 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares 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 | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 | 1 ha | 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 | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Peterborough?
- Loggingcan grow back62% · 14 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good6.4% · 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown32% · 7 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
- 1,310 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,110 ha
- Overall change
- +802 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Peterborough grew from about 1,310 hectares to 2,110 hectares, a net gain of about 802 hectares (+61%). New forest grew on about 805 hectares, while 4 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 Peterborough
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Cambridge48.3 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 39
- Bedford51.0 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 14
- Northampton56.1 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 14
- Leicester60.1 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 31
- Milton Keynes68.5 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 14
- Nottingham74.0 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 63
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Frequently asked
Questions about Peterborough
What is the air quality (AQI) in Peterborough right now?
The latest reading for Peterborough shows an AQI of 26 (Good), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by the Crowland, lincolnshire ground monitoring station, 8.1 mi (13 km) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Peterborough today?
At AQI 26 (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 Peterborough been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Peterborough's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 30 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 94 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Peterborough'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 Peterborough lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Peterborough has lost about 22 hectares of forest (about 31 football pitches): 1.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 1 hectare (6.4%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Peterborough grew from about 1,310 hectares to 2,110 hectares, a net gain of about 802 hectares (+61%). New forest grew on about 805 hectares, while 4 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Peterborough?
Peterborough has an estimated 75,398 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 24.0% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Peterborough need?
Peterborough needs roughly 18,850 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 414.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Peterborough's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Peterborough, 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 Peterborough; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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