City report · North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Recklinghausen Air quality today
Air quality in Recklinghausen currently reads AQI 79 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 79
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 24.2
- tree cover
- 48.7%
- trees in this area
- 153K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Recklinghausen, Germany (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Recklinghausen · AQI 79 (Moderate)
Recklinghausen's tree count comes to 152,996 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 Recklinghausen today: AQI 79, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Essen-Ost Steeler Straße, 21.5 km away · median of 10 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
24.2
PM10
21.5
NO₂
28.2
O₃
12.9
SO₂
0.5
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Recklinghausen's daily AQI at 71 on average, from 48 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 102 on Nov 7.
Where Recklinghausen stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Recklinghausen: Healthy tree cover
48.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
152,996
Target trees
152,996
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Recklinghausen lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Recklinghausen has lost about 388 hectares of forest (about 540 football pitches): 3.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 68 hectares (18%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 388 haabout 540 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 68 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2010, when about 112 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 | 5 ha | 14 ha | 19 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 3 ha | 7 ha | 10 ha |
| 2005 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2006 | 7 ha | 2 ha | 9 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 48 ha | 51 ha |
| 2008 | 8 ha | 43 ha | 50 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | 107 ha | 112 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | 8 ha | 9 ha |
| 2017 | 4 ha | 9 ha | 13 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | 6 ha | 11 ha |
| 2019 | 6 ha | 20 ha | 25 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2021 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | 4 ha | 6 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Recklinghausen?
- Loggingcan grow back78% · 303 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good16% · 63 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good1.1% · 4 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 17,200 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 17,200 ha
- Overall change
- +77 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Recklinghausen stayed about the same size, at about 17,200 hectares: new forest grew on about 410 hectares, and about 333 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Recklinghausen
What is the air quality (AQI) in Recklinghausen right now?
The latest reading for Recklinghausen shows an AQI of 79 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 10 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Essen-Ost Steeler Straße, 21.5 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Recklinghausen today?
At AQI 79 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Recklinghausen been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Recklinghausen's daily AQI at 71 on average, from 48 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 102 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Recklinghausen lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Recklinghausen has lost about 388 hectares of forest (about 540 football pitches): 3.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 68 hectares (18%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Recklinghausen stayed about the same size, at about 17,200 hectares: new forest grew on about 410 hectares, and about 333 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Recklinghausen?
Recklinghausen has an estimated 152,996 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 48.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Recklinghausen need?
Recklinghausen has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Recklinghausen's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Recklinghausen, 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 Recklinghausen; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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