City report · United States
Sioux Falls Air quality today
Air quality in Sioux Falls currently reads AQI 10 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 10
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 1.8
- tree cover
- 36.6%
- trees in this area
- 115K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Downtown, Sioux Falls, SD, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 26, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Sioux Falls · AQI 10 (Good)
Sioux Falls's tree count comes to 114,982 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Sioux Falls today: AQI 10, 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 · Big House, 4.6 mi (7.4 km) away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
1.8
PM10
9.0
NO₂
—
O₃
19.6
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, AirNow, Carrie
- 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 Sioux Falls's daily AQI at 20 on average, from 8 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 66 on Nov 7.
Where Sioux Falls stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Sioux Falls: Healthy tree cover
36.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
114,982
Target trees
114,982
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sioux Falls lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sioux Falls has lost about 60 acres (24 hectares) of forest (about 46 football fields): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (74%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 60 acres (24 ha)about 46 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 3.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 45 acres (18 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2013, when about 9 acres (4 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 | 4 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | 6 acres (3 ha) | 2 acres (1 ha) | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2014 | 4 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 3 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2017 | 5 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 3 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2020 | 6 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 6 acres (3 ha) |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 2 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 2 acres (1 ha) |
| 2024 | 2 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Sioux Falls?
- Towns and roadscleared for good66% · 40 acres (16 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good6.6% · 4 acres (2 ha)
- Unknown causescause unknown27% · 17 acres (7 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
- 7,080 acres (2,870 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 8,490 acres (3,440 ha)
- Overall change
- +1,410 acres (570 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sioux Falls grew from about 7,080 acres (2,870 hectares) to 8,490 acres (3,440 hectares), a net gain of about 1,410 acres (570 hectares) (+20%). New forest grew on about 1,510 acres (613 hectares), while 106 acres (43 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Sioux Falls
What is the air quality (AQI) in Sioux Falls right now?
The latest reading for Sioux Falls shows an AQI of 10 (Good), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Big House, 4.6 mi (7.4 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Sioux Falls today?
At AQI 10 (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 Sioux Falls been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sioux Falls's daily AQI at 20 on average, from 8 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 66 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Sioux Falls lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sioux Falls has lost about 60 acres (24 hectares) of forest (about 46 football fields): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (74%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sioux Falls grew from about 7,080 acres (2,870 hectares) to 8,490 acres (3,440 hectares), a net gain of about 1,410 acres (570 hectares) (+20%). New forest grew on about 1,510 acres (613 hectares), while 106 acres (43 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Sioux Falls?
Sioux Falls has an estimated 114,982 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 36.6% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Sioux Falls need?
Sioux Falls has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Sioux Falls'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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