City report · England, United Kingdom
St Helens Air quality today
Air quality in St Helens currently reads AQI 13 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 13
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.4
- tree cover
- 30.7%
- trees in this area
- 96.3K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around St Helens, Saint Helens, UK (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
St Helens · AQI 13 (Good)
St Helens's tree count comes to 96,350 trees across 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in St Helens today: AQI 13, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 15:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Golborne Dale Cottage, 5.5 mi (8.8 km) away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.4
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Dan Cunliffe
- 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 St Helens's daily AQI at 64 on average, from 30 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 93 on Nov 8.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index
Where St Helens stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in St Helens: Healthy tree cover
30.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
96,350
Target trees
96,350
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has St Helens lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of St Helens has lost about 49 hectares of forest (about 68 football pitches): 2.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 8 hectares (17%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 49 haabout 68 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 8 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 9 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 | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around St Helens?
- Loggingcan grow back59% · 29 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good11% · 6 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good5.3% · 3 ha
Also: 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
- 1,760 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,230 ha
- Overall change
- +474 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around St Helens grew from about 1,760 hectares to 2,230 hectares, a net gain of about 474 hectares (+27%). New forest grew on about 512 hectares, while 38 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 St Helens
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Wigan12.1 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 13
- Liverpool16.8 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 33
- Bolton24.8 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 38
- Manchester32.7 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 53
- Preston34.8 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 52
- Blackburn37.2 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 66
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Frequently asked
Questions about St Helens
What is the air quality (AQI) in St Helens right now?
The latest reading for St Helens shows an AQI of 13 (Good), measured Nov 11, 15:00 local time by the Golborne Dale Cottage ground monitoring station, 5.5 mi (8.8 km) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in St Helens today?
At AQI 13 (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 St Helens been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put St Helens's daily AQI at 64 on average, from 30 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 93 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is St Helens's AQI 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.
How much forest has the area around St Helens lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of St Helens has lost about 49 hectares of forest (about 68 football pitches): 2.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 8 hectares (17%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around St Helens grew from about 1,760 hectares to 2,230 hectares, a net gain of about 474 hectares (+27%). New forest grew on about 512 hectares, while 38 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in St Helens?
St Helens has an estimated 96,350 trees across the 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land measured — 30.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does St Helens need?
St Helens has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are St Helens's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near St Helens, 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 St Helens; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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