United States · Colorado · 11 places
Air quality in Colorado today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Aurora has the cleanest air of the 11 Colorado cities we track (AQI 14, Good), and Colorado Springs the worst (AQI 41, Good). Fort Collins has the most tree cover, at 38.2% — #44 of 278 large US cities.
Every place is measured the same way, over the same 1.2 mi (2 km) around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
Average right now
AQI 27
Good
- places tracked
- 11
- average tree cover
- 22.1%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Colorado Springs
- 41
- cleanest air now: Aurora
- 14
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Colorado · average AQI 27
Air quality today across Colorado, city by city
| Denver | 21Good | 12.8% | 53.9K | #212 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado Springs | 41Good | 26.4% | 11.3K | #126 of 278 |
| Aurora | 14Good | 13.6% | 51.5K | #205 of 278 |
| Fort Collins | 29Good | 38.2% | — | #44 of 278 |
| Lakewood | 35Good | 26.5% | 11.0K | #123 of 278 |
| Thornton | 29Good | 10.3% | 61.7K | #231 of 278 |
| Arvada | 19Good | 20.6% | 29.5K | #154 of 278 |
| Centennial | 39Good | 18.8% | 35.2K | #169 of 278 |
| Pueblo | 27Good | 15.7% | 44.8K | #185 of 278 |
| Greeley | 16Good | 22.8% | 22.4K | #143 of 278 |
| Boulder | 23Good | 37.5% | — | #48 of 278 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 1.2 mi (2 km) of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery. The US greenness rank covers cities of 100,000+ people; see the full ranking.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Colorado lost?
Since 2001, Colorado has lost about 1.35 million acres (548,000 hectares) of forest (about 5,500 km²): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 17,400 acres (7,030 hectares) (1.3%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.35 million acres (548,000 ha)about 5,500 km²
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 17,400 acres (7,030 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1,000 acres (406 ha) | 33,300 acres (13,500 ha) | 34,300 acres (13,900 ha) |
| 2002 | 956 acres (387 ha) | 109,000 acres (44,100 ha) | 110,000 acres (44,500 ha) |
| 2003 | 576 acres (233 ha) | 30,000 acres (12,100 ha) | 30,600 acres (12,400 ha) |
| 2004 | 1,600 acres (648 ha) | 38,600 acres (15,600 ha) | 40,200 acres (16,300 ha) |
| 2005 | 1,100 acres (446 ha) | 54,700 acres (22,100 ha) | 55,800 acres (22,600 ha) |
| 2006 | 791 acres (320 ha) | 22,600 acres (9,150 ha) | 23,400 acres (9,470 ha) |
| 2007 | 1,040 acres (420 ha) | 152,000 acres (61,700 ha) | 153,000 acres (62,100 ha) |
| 2008 | 1,610 acres (651 ha) | 57,300 acres (23,200 ha) | 58,900 acres (23,800 ha) |
| 2009 | 726 acres (294 ha) | 17,000 acres (6,870 ha) | 17,700 acres (7,160 ha) |
| 2010 | 919 acres (372 ha) | 54,300 acres (22,000 ha) | 55,200 acres (22,300 ha) |
| 2011 | 492 acres (199 ha) | 25,000 acres (10,100 ha) | 25,400 acres (10,300 ha) |
| 2012 | 650 acres (263 ha) | 68,900 acres (27,900 ha) | 69,600 acres (28,200 ha) |
| 2013 | 398 acres (161 ha) | 55,400 acres (22,400 ha) | 55,800 acres (22,600 ha) |
| 2014 | 934 acres (378 ha) | 22,000 acres (8,920 ha) | 23,000 acres (9,300 ha) |
| 2015 | 343 acres (139 ha) | 14,600 acres (5,920 ha) | 15,000 acres (6,060 ha) |
| 2016 | 388 acres (157 ha) | 20,600 acres (8,340 ha) | 21,000 acres (8,500 ha) |
| 2017 | 358 acres (145 ha) | 21,900 acres (8,850 ha) | 22,200 acres (8,990 ha) |
| 2018 | 193 acres (78 ha) | 77,400 acres (31,300 ha) | 77,600 acres (31,400 ha) |
| 2019 | 722 acres (292 ha) | 44,800 acres (18,100 ha) | 45,500 acres (18,400 ha) |
| 2020 | 229 acres (93 ha) | 114,000 acres (46,000 ha) | 114,000 acres (46,100 ha) |
| 2021 | 297 acres (120 ha) | 189,000 acres (76,300 ha) | 189,000 acres (76,400 ha) |
| 2022 | 220 acres (89 ha) | 15,100 acres (6,100 ha) | 15,300 acres (6,180 ha) |
| 2023 | 247 acres (100 ha) | 25,300 acres (10,300 ha) | 25,600 acres (10,400 ha) |
| 2024 | 138 acres (56 ha) | 17,000 acres (6,890 ha) | 17,200 acres (6,950 ha) |
| 2025 | 1,450 acres (587 ha) | 57,200 acres (23,100 ha) | 58,600 acres (23,700 ha) |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 61,100 acres (24,700 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 56,000 acres (22,700 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2021, when about 189,000 acres (76,400 hectares) of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
What is causing deforestation in Colorado?
- Wildfirescan grow back54% · 727,000 acres (294,000 ha)
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back26% · 350,000 acres (142,000 ha)
- Loggingcan grow back15% · 210,000 acres (84,800 ha)
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, mining and energy, towns and roads, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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Cleaner air at home in Colorado
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