United Kingdom · Scotland · 4 cities
Air quality in Scotland today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Aberdeen has the cleanest air of the 4 cities we track in Scotland (AQI 9, Good), and Glasgow the worst (AQI 69, Moderate). Edinburgh has the most tree cover, at 31.0% — #24 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.
AQI 36
Average right now
Good
- cities tracked
- 4
- average tree cover
- 24.3%
- United Kingdom: 26.6%
- worst air now: Glasgow
- 69
- cleanest air now: Aberdeen
- 9
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.
Scotland · average AQI 36
Air quality today across Scotland, city by city
| Glasgow | 69Moderate | 19.9% | 30.6K | #71 of 92 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | 54Moderate | 31.0% | — | #24 of 92 |
| Aberdeen | 9Good | 23.0% | 19.5K | #64 of 92 |
| Dundee | 12Good | 23.4% | 18.8K | #61 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 Scotland lost?
Since 2001, Scotland has lost about 395,000 hectares of forest (about 4,000 km²): 25% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 7,420 hectares (1.9%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 395,000 haabout 4,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 25%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 7,420 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 | 1,670 ha | 9,560 ha | 11,200 ha |
| 2002 | 784 ha | 10,500 ha | 11,300 ha |
| 2003 | 175 ha | 990 ha | 1,170 ha |
| 2004 | 555 ha | 11,300 ha | 11,800 ha |
| 2005 | 5 ha | 1,820 ha | 1,830 ha |
| 2006 | 256 ha | 5,330 ha | 5,580 ha |
| 2007 | 687 ha | 21,900 ha | 22,600 ha |
| 2008 | 150 ha | 4,060 ha | 4,210 ha |
| 2009 | 540 ha | 24,000 ha | 24,500 ha |
| 2010 | 506 ha | 17,500 ha | 18,000 ha |
| 2011 | 190 ha | 17,200 ha | 17,300 ha |
| 2012 | 305 ha | 26,400 ha | 26,700 ha |
| 2013 | 160 ha | 19,100 ha | 19,200 ha |
| 2014 | 216 ha | 20,800 ha | 21,000 ha |
| 2015 | 99 ha | 16,700 ha | 16,800 ha |
| 2016 | 149 ha | 20,200 ha | 20,400 ha |
| 2017 | 79 ha | 14,700 ha | 14,800 ha |
| 2018 | 126 ha | 19,400 ha | 19,500 ha |
| 2019 | 122 ha | 19,500 ha | 19,600 ha |
| 2020 | 85 ha | 16,700 ha | 16,800 ha |
| 2021 | 42 ha | 17,800 ha | 17,900 ha |
| 2022 | 203 ha | 25,300 ha | 25,500 ha |
| 2023 | 81 ha | 14,100 ha | 14,200 ha |
| 2024 | 84 ha | 16,000 ha | 16,000 ha |
| 2025 | 157 ha | 17,100 ha | 17,300 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 18,200 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 18,200 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2012, when about 26,700 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Scotland?
- Loggingcan grow back96% · 378,000 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.5% · 5,740 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back1.3% · 5,120 ha
Also: mining and energy, towns and roads, 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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