China · Beijing · 5 cities
Air quality in Beijing today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Mentougou has the cleanest air of the 5 cities we track in Beijing (AQI 142, Unhealthy for sensitive groups), and Tongzhou the worst (AQI 182, Unhealthy). Mentougou has the most tree cover, at 30.9% — #139 of 639 cities measured in China.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
Average right now
AQI 168
Unhealthy
- cities tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 20.7%
- China: 22.9%
- worst air now: Tongzhou
- 182
- cleanest air now: Mentougou
- 142
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Beijing · average AQI 168
Air quality today across Beijing, city by city
| Beijing | 178Unhealthy | 19.6% | 61.0K | #325 of 639 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mentougou | 142Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 30.9% | 12.8K | #139 of 639 |
| Tongzhou | 182Unhealthy | 14.2% | 78.9K | #449 of 639 |
| Shunyi | 162Unhealthy | 16.6% | 72.3K | #392 of 639 |
| Daxing | 175Unhealthy | 22.3% | 55.6K | #264 of 639 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in China.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Beijing lost?
Since 2001, Beijing has lost about 964 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was towns and roads (21%). About 427 hectares (44%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 964 haabout 1,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 427 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 13 ha | 38 ha | 51 ha |
| 2002 | 6 ha | 57 ha | 62 ha |
| 2003 | 10 ha | 21 ha | 31 ha |
| 2004 | 10 ha | 47 ha | 57 ha |
| 2005 | 18 ha | 47 ha | 65 ha |
| 2006 | 10 ha | 19 ha | 29 ha |
| 2007 | 9 ha | 26 ha | 35 ha |
| 2008 | 17 ha | 34 ha | 51 ha |
| 2009 | 35 ha | 30 ha | 65 ha |
| 2010 | 23 ha | 35 ha | 58 ha |
| 2011 | 17 ha | 34 ha | 50 ha |
| 2012 | 13 ha | 36 ha | 49 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | 4 ha | 8 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 10 ha | 15 ha | 25 ha |
| 2017 | 5 ha | 7 ha | 11 ha |
| 2018 | 30 ha | 8 ha | 37 ha |
| 2019 | 128 ha | 21 ha | 149 ha |
| 2020 | 13 ha | 6 ha | 19 ha |
| 2021 | 12 ha | 16 ha | 27 ha |
| 2022 | 17 ha | 3 ha | 20 ha |
| 2023 | 5 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2024 | 16 ha | 15 ha | 32 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 12 ha | 18 ha |
The worst year was 2019, when about 149 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Beijing?
- Towns and roadscleared for good21% · 206 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good18% · 172 ha
- Loggingcan grow back18% · 172 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, wildfires, storms, floods and other natural causes, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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