City report · New York, United States
Rochester Air quality today
Air quality in Rochester currently reads AQI 48 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 48
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.6
- tree cover
- 31.9%
- trees in this area
- 98.3K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Downtown, Rochester, NY, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 22, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Rochester · AQI 48 (Good)
Rochester's tree count comes to 98,313 trees across 4.8 sq mi (12.33 km²) of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Rochester today: AQI 48, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Rochester Near-road, 3.0 mi (4.8 km) away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.6
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
21.6
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirNow
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Rochester's daily AQI at 20 on average, from 12 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 41 on Nov 8.
Where Rochester stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Rochester: Healthy tree cover
31.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.8 sq mi (12.33 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
98,313
Target trees
98,313
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Rochester lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Rochester has lost about 417 acres (169 hectares) of forest (about 320 football fields): 1.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 417 acres (169 ha)about 320 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 1.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 380 acres (154 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2018, when about 57 acres (23 hectares) of forest were lost.
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2002 | 13 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 14 acres (6 ha) |
| 2003 | 6 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2004 | 29 acres (12 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 32 acres (13 ha) |
| 2005 | 20 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 21 acres (8 ha) |
| 2006 | 8 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2007 | 11 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 12 acres (5 ha) |
| 2008 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2009 | 13 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 14 acres (6 ha) |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) |
| 2011 | 4 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 6 acres (2 ha) |
| 2012 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2013 | 3 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2016 | 21 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 21 acres (8 ha) |
| 2017 | 24 acres (10 ha) | under 1 ha | 24 acres (10 ha) |
| 2018 | 54 acres (22 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 57 acres (23 ha) |
| 2019 | 48 acres (19 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 52 acres (21 ha) |
| 2020 | 8 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2021 | 23 acres (9 ha) | under 1 ha | 24 acres (10 ha) |
| 2022 | 15 acres (6 ha) | under 1 ha | 17 acres (7 ha) |
| 2023 | 25 acres (10 ha) | under 1 ha | 25 acres (10 ha) |
| 2024 | 24 acres (10 ha) | under 1 ha | 26 acres (10 ha) |
| 2025 | 3 acres (1 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 8 acres (3 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Rochester?
- Towns and roadscleared for good89% · 371 acres (150 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.4% · 10 acres (4 ha)
- Unknown causescause unknown8.8% · 37 acres (15 ha)
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
- 41,400 acres (16,700 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 41,300 acres (16,700 ha)
- Overall change
- −32 acres (13 ha)less forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Rochester stayed about the same size, at about 41,300 acres (16,700 hectares): new forest grew on about 613 acres (248 hectares), and about 647 acres (262 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
In the same region
Measured cities near Rochester
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Amherst98.2 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 57
- Buffalo106.9 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 57
- Syracuse119.8 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 60
- Oshawa129.5 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 23
- St. Catharines132.0 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 39
- Ajax138.0 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 31
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Frequently asked
Questions about Rochester
What is the air quality (AQI) in Rochester right now?
The latest reading for Rochester shows an AQI of 48 (Good), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Rochester Near-road, 3.0 mi (4.8 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Rochester today?
At AQI 48 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Rochester been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Rochester's daily AQI at 20 on average, from 12 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 41 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Rochester lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Rochester has lost about 417 acres (169 hectares) of forest (about 320 football fields): 1.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Rochester stayed about the same size, at about 41,300 acres (16,700 hectares): new forest grew on about 613 acres (248 hectares), and about 647 acres (262 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Rochester?
Rochester has an estimated 98,313 trees across the 4.8 sq mi (12.33 km²) of land measured — 31.9% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Rochester need?
Rochester has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Rochester's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Downtown, 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 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Downtown; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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