Canada · Nova Scotia · 2 cities
Air quality in Nova Scotia today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Sydney has the cleanest air of the 2 cities we track in Nova Scotia (AQI 20, Good), and Sydney the worst (AQI 20, Good). Halifax has the most tree cover, at 37.1% — #21 of 59 cities measured in Canada.
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.
- cities tracked
- 2
- average tree cover
- 34.6%
- Canada: 33.1%
- worst air now: Sydney
- 20
- cleanest air now: Sydney
- 20
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous, and it reads differently from Canada's AQHI. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Nova Scotia
Air quality today across Nova Scotia, city by city
| Halifax | 29Good | 37.1% | — | #21 of 59 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 20Good | 32.0% | — | #31 of 59 |
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 Canada.
Is this the same as Canada's AQHI?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. Canada's Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), from Environment and Climate Change Canada, runs from 1 to 10 and above: 1–3 low risk, 4–6 moderate, 7–10 high and over 10 very high. It combines ozone, nitrogen dioxide and fine particles into one health-risk number, so it isn't a converted AQI, and the two can move differently, especially in wildfire smoke.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Nova Scotia lost?
Since 2001, Nova Scotia has lost about 805,000 hectares of forest (about 8,100 km²): 18% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 17,800 hectares (2.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 805,000 haabout 8,100 km²
- Share of its forest
- 18%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 17,800 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 | 583 ha | 39,900 ha | 40,500 ha |
| 2002 | 586 ha | 39,700 ha | 40,200 ha |
| 2003 | 280 ha | 22,200 ha | 22,500 ha |
| 2004 | 1,940 ha | 60,400 ha | 62,300 ha |
| 2005 | 1,260 ha | 48,000 ha | 49,200 ha |
| 2006 | 798 ha | 36,700 ha | 37,500 ha |
| 2007 | 833 ha | 39,500 ha | 40,300 ha |
| 2008 | 650 ha | 34,800 ha | 35,400 ha |
| 2009 | 544 ha | 33,400 ha | 34,000 ha |
| 2010 | 582 ha | 29,700 ha | 30,300 ha |
| 2011 | 663 ha | 27,100 ha | 27,800 ha |
| 2012 | 814 ha | 24,500 ha | 25,300 ha |
| 2013 | 390 ha | 22,100 ha | 22,500 ha |
| 2014 | 755 ha | 27,800 ha | 28,600 ha |
| 2015 | 484 ha | 29,100 ha | 29,500 ha |
| 2016 | 808 ha | 34,600 ha | 35,400 ha |
| 2017 | 756 ha | 31,500 ha | 32,200 ha |
| 2018 | 840 ha | 29,600 ha | 30,400 ha |
| 2019 | 622 ha | 27,700 ha | 28,300 ha |
| 2020 | 597 ha | 22,300 ha | 22,900 ha |
| 2021 | 593 ha | 21,700 ha | 22,300 ha |
| 2022 | 659 ha | 23,100 ha | 23,700 ha |
| 2023 | 656 ha | 45,300 ha | 45,900 ha |
| 2024 | 441 ha | 17,100 ha | 17,600 ha |
| 2025 | 625 ha | 20,200 ha | 20,800 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 26,100 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 29,800 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2004, when about 62,300 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Nova Scotia?
- Loggingcan grow back95% · 765,000 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back2.4% · 19,500 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good1.3% · 10,200 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, mining and energy, 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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