City report · Quebec, Canada
Saguenay Air quality today
Air quality in Saguenay currently reads AQI 19 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 19
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 1.9
- tree cover
- 39.6%
- trees in this area
- 116K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Chicoutimi, Saguenay, QC, Canada (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 8, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Saguenay · AQI 19 (Good)
Saguenay's tree count comes to 115,574 trees across 11.68 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Saguenay today: AQI 19, Good
Main pollutant: Ozone · Observed Nov 11, 11:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Saguenay - UQAC, 1 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
1.9
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
41.2
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 Saguenay's daily AQI at 11 on average, from 4 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 6.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from Canada's AQHI
Where Saguenay stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Saguenay: Healthy tree cover
39.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.68 km² of land.
Trees in this area
115,574
Target trees
115,574
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Saguenay lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Saguenay has lost about 1,620 hectares of forest (about 2,300 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 744 hectares (46%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,620 haabout 2,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 744 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 109 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 50 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2022, when about 265 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 46 ha | 30 ha | 75 ha |
| 2002 | 24 ha | 25 ha | 49 ha |
| 2003 | 18 ha | 5 ha | 22 ha |
| 2004 | 24 ha | 10 ha | 34 ha |
| 2005 | 27 ha | 63 ha | 89 ha |
| 2006 | 6 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2007 | 28 ha | 15 ha | 42 ha |
| 2008 | 29 ha | 8 ha | 37 ha |
| 2009 | 108 ha | 106 ha | 214 ha |
| 2010 | 17 ha | 18 ha | 34 ha |
| 2011 | 18 ha | 8 ha | 26 ha |
| 2012 | 54 ha | 41 ha | 95 ha |
| 2013 | 35 ha | 21 ha | 56 ha |
| 2014 | 22 ha | 7 ha | 29 ha |
| 2015 | 8 ha | 5 ha | 13 ha |
| 2016 | 14 ha | 66 ha | 80 ha |
| 2017 | 29 ha | 23 ha | 52 ha |
| 2018 | 29 ha | 7 ha | 36 ha |
| 2019 | 27 ha | 6 ha | 33 ha |
| 2020 | 29 ha | 22 ha | 51 ha |
| 2021 | 34 ha | 5 ha | 39 ha |
| 2022 | 50 ha | 215 ha | 265 ha |
| 2023 | 36 ha | 79 ha | 115 ha |
| 2024 | 17 ha | 51 ha | 67 ha |
| 2025 | 18 ha | 40 ha | 58 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Saguenay?
- Loggingcan grow back52% · 847 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good29% · 465 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good11% · 175 ha
Also: mining and energy, unknown causes.
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
- 10,600 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 10,400 ha
- Overall change
- −194 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Saguenay stayed about the same size, at about 10,400 hectares: new forest grew on about 583 hectares, and about 777 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 Saguenay
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Québec178.8 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 17
- Trois-Rivières256.0 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 19
- Sherbrooke341.4 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 16
- Terrebonne359.8 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 19
- 362.9 km
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 19
- 365.5 km
- Tree cover
- 68%
- Air quality
- 19
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Frequently asked
Questions about Saguenay
What is the air quality (AQI) in Saguenay right now?
The latest reading for Saguenay shows an AQI of 19 (Good), measured Nov 11, 11:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Saguenay - UQAC, 1 km away). The main pollutant is Ozone. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Saguenay today?
At AQI 19 (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 Saguenay been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Saguenay's daily AQI at 11 on average, from 4 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Saguenay's AQI 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.
How much forest has the area around Saguenay lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Saguenay has lost about 1,620 hectares of forest (about 2,300 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 744 hectares (46%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is speeding up: about 109 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 50 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Saguenay stayed about the same size, at about 10,400 hectares: new forest grew on about 583 hectares, and about 777 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Saguenay?
Saguenay has an estimated 115,574 trees across the 11.68 km² of land measured — 39.6% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Saguenay need?
Saguenay has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Saguenay's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Chicoutimi, 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 2 km radius around Chicoutimi; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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