City report · North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Solingen Air quality today
Air quality in Solingen currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 53
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.2
- tree cover
- 52.8%
- trees in this area
- 166K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Solingen, Germany (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Solingen · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Solingen's tree count comes to 165,876 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Solingen today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Wuppertal Gathe, 10.6 km away · median of 10 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.2
PM10
12.2
NO₂
28.2
O₃
4.5
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Solingen's daily AQI at 64 on average, from 41 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 87 on Nov 7.
Where Solingen stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Solingen: Healthy tree cover
52.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
165,876
Target trees
165,876
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Solingen lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Solingen has lost about 1,370 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): 8.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 126 hectares (9.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,370 haabout 1,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 8.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 126 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 128 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 47 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2021, when about 421 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 | under 1 ha | 12 ha | 13 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | 18 ha | 24 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | 8 ha | 10 ha |
| 2004 | 13 ha | 26 ha | 39 ha |
| 2005 | 4 ha | 16 ha | 19 ha |
| 2006 | 5 ha | 15 ha | 20 ha |
| 2007 | 11 ha | 80 ha | 91 ha |
| 2008 | 18 ha | 60 ha | 78 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | 29 ha | 32 ha |
| 2010 | 12 ha | 114 ha | 125 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | 10 ha | 14 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 11 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | 5 ha | 9 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 7 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | 11 ha | 13 ha |
| 2018 | 6 ha | 9 ha | 15 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | 43 ha | 47 ha |
| 2020 | 5 ha | 147 ha | 152 ha |
| 2021 | 8 ha | 413 ha | 421 ha |
| 2022 | 6 ha | 84 ha | 90 ha |
| 2023 | 5 ha | 86 ha | 91 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | 26 ha | 30 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 7 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Solingen?
- Loggingcan grow back90% · 1,230 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good9.2% · 126 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
- 20,600 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 20,600 ha
- Overall change
- +17 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Solingen stayed about the same size, at about 20,600 hectares: new forest grew on about 280 hectares, and about 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 Solingen
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Leverkusen17.4 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 54
- Bergisch Gladbach21.2 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 60%
- Air quality
- 56
- Düsseldorf22.0 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 55
- Köln28.3 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 50
- Essen31.9 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 72
- Hagen34.1 km
Germany
- Tree cover
- 51%
- Air quality
- 46
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Frequently asked
Questions about Solingen
What is the air quality (AQI) in Solingen right now?
The latest reading for Solingen shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 10 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Wuppertal Gathe, 10.6 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Solingen today?
At AQI 53 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Solingen been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Solingen's daily AQI at 64 on average, from 41 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 87 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 Solingen lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Solingen has lost about 1,370 hectares of forest (about 1,900 football pitches): 8.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 126 hectares (9.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is speeding up: about 128 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 47 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Solingen stayed about the same size, at about 20,600 hectares: new forest grew on about 280 hectares, and about 262 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Solingen?
Solingen has an estimated 165,876 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 52.8% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Solingen need?
Solingen has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Solingen's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Solingen, 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 Solingen; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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