City report · Missouri, United States
St. Louis Air quality today
Air quality in St. Louis currently reads AQI 43 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 43
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 7.8
- tree cover
- 7.4%
- trees in this area
- 20.9K
- more trees needed
- 63.8K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Downtown, St. Louis, MO, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
St. Louis · AQI 43 (Good)
St. Louis's tree count comes to 20,877 trees across 4.4 sq mi (11.29 km²) of land, 23 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 63,758 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in St. Louis today: AQI 43, 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 · Branch Street, 2.1 mi (3.3 km) away · median of 5 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
7.8
PM10
24.0
NO₂
—
O₃
47.1
SO₂
—
CO
458.2
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 St. Louis's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 18 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 92 on Nov 7.
Where St. Louis stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in St. Louis: Critically low
7.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.4 sq mi (11.29 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
20,877
Target trees
84,635
More trees needed
63,758
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,403 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has St. Louis lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of St. Louis has lost about 242 acres (98 hectares) of forest (about 180 football fields): 5.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 242 acres (98 ha)about 180 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 5.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 204 acres (83 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2017, 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 3 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 2 acres (1 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2006 | 3 acres (1 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | 6 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2009 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2010 | 3 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) |
| 2011 | 10 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 11 acres (4 ha) |
| 2012 | 14 acres (6 ha) | under 1 ha | 15 acres (6 ha) |
| 2013 | 16 acres (6 ha) | 6 acres (3 ha) | 22 acres (9 ha) |
| 2014 | 25 acres (10 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 29 acres (12 ha) |
| 2015 | 10 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 10 acres (4 ha) |
| 2016 | 4 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2017 | 55 acres (22 ha) | under 1 ha | 57 acres (23 ha) |
| 2018 | 4 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2019 | 3 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) |
| 2020 | 8 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2021 | 12 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 13 acres (5 ha) |
| 2022 | 10 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 10 acres (4 ha) |
| 2023 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | 2 acres (1 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 7 acres (3 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around St. Louis?
- Towns and roadscleared for good81% · 195 acres (79 ha)
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back3.3% · 8 acres (3 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.2% · 8 acres (3 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
- 18,000 acres (7,270 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 18,700 acres (7,580 ha)
- Overall change
- +768 acres (311 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around St. Louis grew from about 18,000 acres (7,270 hectares) to 18,700 acres (7,580 hectares), a net gain of about 768 acres (311 hectares) (+4.3%). New forest grew on about 1,150 acres (465 hectares), while 383 acres (155 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. Louis
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Springfield139.0 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 56
- Columbia188.6 km
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- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 58
- Peoria235.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 49
- Evansville241.7 km
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- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 56
- Springfield314.0 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 17
- Davenport323.7 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 44
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Frequently asked
Questions about St. Louis
What is the air quality (AQI) in St. Louis right now?
The latest reading for St. Louis shows an AQI of 43 (Good), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by 5 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Branch Street, 2.1 mi (3.3 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in St. Louis today?
At AQI 43 (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. Louis been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put St. Louis's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 18 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 92 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 St. Louis lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of St. Louis has lost about 242 acres (98 hectares) of forest (about 180 football fields): 5.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around St. Louis grew from about 18,000 acres (7,270 hectares) to 18,700 acres (7,580 hectares), a net gain of about 768 acres (311 hectares) (+4.3%). New forest grew on about 1,150 acres (465 hectares), while 383 acres (155 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in St. Louis?
St. Louis has an estimated 20,877 trees across the 4.4 sq mi (11.29 km²) of land measured — 7.4% tree cover, 23 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does St. Louis need?
St. Louis needs roughly 63,758 more trees to close a 23-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,403 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are St. Louis'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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