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United Kingdom · England · 84 cities

Air quality in England today The AQI right now, city by city

Right now, Bradford has the cleanest air of the 84 cities we track in England (AQI 6, Good), and Woking the worst (AQI 110, Unhealthy for sensitive groups). Woking has the most tree cover, at 54.3% — #1 of 92 cities measured in the United Kingdom.

Every city is measured the same way, over the same 1.2 mi (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 52

Moderate

US EPA index, across 84 cities
cities tracked
84
average tree cover
27.0%
United Kingdom: 26.6%
worst air now: Woking
110
cleanest air now: Bradford
6

Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous, and it reads differently from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.

England · average AQI 52

Air quality today across England, city by city

Current air quality and tree cover for cities in England, United Kingdom
London66Moderate18.4%33.5K#73 of 92
Manchester53Moderate13.3%52.3K#86 of 92
Birmingham55Moderate15.5%45.2K#82 of 92
Sheffield40Good26.3%11.6K#43 of 92
Leeds23Good15.7%44.8K#81 of 92
Liverpool33Good12.9%47.9K#89 of 92
Bristol33Good26.3%11.3K#42 of 92
Leicester26Good14.9%47.4K#83 of 92
Bradford6Good18.2%37.0K#74 of 92
Coventry23Good27.2%8.7K#39 of 92
Nottingham29Good27.4%8.1K#37 of 92
Reading90Moderate28.2%5.6K#34 of 92
Kingston upon Hull24Good10.4%44.0K#90 of 92
Preston57Moderate26.9%9.5K#41 of 92
Newcastle upon Tyne72Moderate24.5%16.6K#52 of 92
Southend-on-Sea66Moderate16.3%29.1K#79 of 92
Brighton100Moderate19.5%26.2K#72 of 92
Derby33Good25.6%13.8K#45 of 92
Southampton53Moderate16.8%29.2K#78 of 92
Wolverhampton55Moderate24.7%16.6K#51 of 92
Plymouth42Good17.6%29.0K#75 of 92
Stoke-on-Trent19Good25.0%15.7K#49 of 92
Milton Keynes33Good39.6%—#9 of 92
Northampton38Good22.0%25.1K#68 of 92
Oldham53Moderate23.0%22.0K#65 of 92
Bexley99Moderate39.5%—#10 of 92
Luton69Moderate24.0%18.9K#56 of 92
Barking89Moderate16.1%43.2K#80 of 92
Portsmouth57Moderate10.3%47.7K#92 of 92
Swindon22Good23.5%20.4K#60 of 92
Dudley55Moderate35.4%—#12 of 92
Sutton71Moderate44.5%—#7 of 92
St Helens16Good30.7%—#27 of 92
Ipswich69Moderate31.0%—#23 of 92
Wigan16Good31.4%—#21 of 92
Warrington16Good25.2%15.1K#48 of 92
Walsall55Moderate32.4%—#20 of 92
Mansfield29Good30.1%—#29 of 92
Sunderland50Good17.5%34.2K#76 of 92
Slough58Moderate21.3%27.3K#70 of 92
Bournemouth66Moderate50.0%—#2 of 92
Peterborough30Good24.0%18.9K#55 of 92
Oxford62Moderate39.1%—#11 of 92
Enfield Town86Moderate30.8%—#26 of 92
York60Moderate23.8%19.5K#57 of 92
Telford13Good45.5%—#6 of 92
Burnley67Moderate34.8%—#14 of 92
Harrow56Moderate28.9%3.5K#33 of 92
Huddersfield23Good34.3%—#15 of 92
Blackburn69Moderate29.0%3.1K#32 of 92
Cambridge44Good29.7%942#30 of 92
Blackpool57Moderate10.3%42.1K#91 of 92
Basildon66Moderate30.9%—#25 of 92
Norwich19Good34.9%—#13 of 92
Middlesbrough51Moderate13.1%48.6K#87 of 92
Bolton38Good28.0%6.3K#35 of 92
Stockport22Good32.7%—#18 of 92
High Wycombe90Moderate40.9%—#8 of 92
Gloucester55Moderate23.5%20.4K#59 of 92
Exeter80Moderate24.4%17.6K#54 of 92
Colchester85Moderate29.3%2.2K#31 of 92
Solihull67Moderate48.6%—#4 of 92
Watford58Moderate30.2%—#28 of 92
Saint Peters84Moderate21.9%25.4K#69 of 92
Crawley93Moderate32.9%—#17 of 92
Burton upon Trent38Good24.8%16.3K#50 of 92
Cheltenham55Moderate27.0%9.4K#40 of 92
Rotherham40Good31.2%—#22 of 92
Worthing63Moderate13.4%42.2K#85 of 92
Doncaster53Moderate14.4%49.0K#84 of 92
Chesterfield40Good27.3%8.5K#38 of 92
Chelmsford66Moderate24.4%17.6K#53 of 92
Sutton Coldfield28Good48.3%—#5 of 92
Wakefield23Good25.4%14.5K#46 of 92
Walthamstow89Moderate22.4%22.5K#67 of 92
Basingstoke59Moderate32.5%—#19 of 92
Maidstone97Moderate33.0%—#16 of 92
Bedford28Good23.5%20.4K#58 of 92
Woking110Unhealthy for sensitive groups54.3%—#1 of 92
Lincoln75Moderate25.2%15.0K#47 of 92
Eastbourne53Moderate23.0%15.1K#63 of 92
Worcester38Good27.4%8.2K#36 of 92
Bath33Good48.6%—#3 of 92
Gillingham58Moderate22.7%18.9K#66 of 92

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 1.2 mi (2 km) of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in the United Kingdom.

Is this 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.

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has England lost?

Since 2001, England has lost about 120,000 hectares of forest (about 170,000 football pitches): 8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 6,550 hectares (5.4%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.

Forest lost since 2001
120,000 haabout 170,000 football pitches
Share of its forest
8%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
6,550 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest lost each year in England, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year in England, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.10.7K

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year in England, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
20011,770 ha5,800 ha7,560 ha
2002516 ha4,120 ha4,630 ha
200315 ha355 ha370 ha
2004482 ha7,100 ha7,580 ha
2005557 ha3,360 ha3,910 ha
2006574 ha10,200 ha10,700 ha
2007164 ha4,310 ha4,470 ha
2008375 ha5,490 ha5,870 ha
2009451 ha6,490 ha6,950 ha
2010416 ha6,320 ha6,740 ha
2011207 ha2,270 ha2,480 ha
2012148 ha5,450 ha5,600 ha
2013106 ha4,440 ha4,550 ha
2014120 ha5,320 ha5,440 ha
201542 ha3,640 ha3,680 ha
201669 ha4,380 ha4,440 ha
2017101 ha4,160 ha4,260 ha
201869 ha3,290 ha3,350 ha
201961 ha4,260 ha4,320 ha
202036 ha2,810 ha2,850 ha
202154 ha4,230 ha4,280 ha
202257 ha5,430 ha5,490 ha
202344 ha3,820 ha3,860 ha
202450 ha3,510 ha3,560 ha
202569 ha3,280 ha3,350 ha

Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 4,110 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 3,840 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2006, when about 10,700 hectares of forest were lost.

What is causing deforestation in England?

  • Loggingcan grow back84% · 101,000 ha
  • Wildfirescan grow back5.6% · 6,700 ha
  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good4.3% · 5,120 ha

Also: towns and roads, storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, 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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