United States · Georgia · 6 places
Air quality in Georgia today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Columbus has the cleanest air of the 6 Georgia cities we track (AQI 37, Good), and Savannah the worst (AQI 87, Moderate). South Fulton has the most tree cover, at 71.7% — #1 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 59
Moderate
- places tracked
- 6
- average tree cover
- 47.5%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Savannah
- 87
- cleanest air now: Columbus
- 37
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Georgia · average AQI 59
Air quality today across Georgia, city by city
| Atlanta | 53Moderate | 24.7% | 16.6K | #140 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savannah | 87Moderate | 31.9% | — | #80 of 278 |
| Athens | 53Moderate | 58.8% | — | #7 of 278 |
| South Fulton | 53Moderate | 71.7% | — | #1 of 278 |
| Sandy Springs | 73Moderate | 61.2% | — | #4 of 278 |
| Columbus | 37Good | 36.5% | — | #55 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 Georgia lost?
Since 2001, Georgia has lost about 9.52 million acres (3.85 million hectares) of forest (about 39,000 km²): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 941,000 acres (381,000 hectares) (9.9%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 9.52 million acres (3.85 million ha)about 39,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 39%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 941,000 acres (381,000 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 | 41,500 acres (16,800 ha) | 365,000 acres (148,000 ha) | 407,000 acres (165,000 ha) |
| 2002 | 44,900 acres (18,200 ha) | 353,000 acres (143,000 ha) | 398,000 acres (161,000 ha) |
| 2003 | 46,500 acres (18,800 ha) | 301,000 acres (122,000 ha) | 348,000 acres (141,000 ha) |
| 2004 | 64,700 acres (26,200 ha) | 368,000 acres (149,000 ha) | 433,000 acres (175,000 ha) |
| 2005 | 58,700 acres (23,700 ha) | 368,000 acres (149,000 ha) | 426,000 acres (172,000 ha) |
| 2006 | 68,400 acres (27,700 ha) | 391,000 acres (158,000 ha) | 459,000 acres (186,000 ha) |
| 2007 | 55,700 acres (22,600 ha) | 440,000 acres (178,000 ha) | 495,000 acres (200,000 ha) |
| 2008 | 42,500 acres (17,200 ha) | 383,000 acres (155,000 ha) | 425,000 acres (172,000 ha) |
| 2009 | 29,100 acres (11,800 ha) | 294,000 acres (119,000 ha) | 323,000 acres (131,000 ha) |
| 2010 | 37,300 acres (15,100 ha) | 375,000 acres (152,000 ha) | 413,000 acres (167,000 ha) |
| 2011 | 34,700 acres (14,100 ha) | 416,000 acres (168,000 ha) | 451,000 acres (183,000 ha) |
| 2012 | 47,700 acres (19,300 ha) | 434,000 acres (176,000 ha) | 482,000 acres (195,000 ha) |
| 2013 | 27,200 acres (11,000 ha) | 340,000 acres (138,000 ha) | 367,000 acres (149,000 ha) |
| 2014 | 37,300 acres (15,100 ha) | 357,000 acres (145,000 ha) | 395,000 acres (160,000 ha) |
| 2015 | 28,100 acres (11,400 ha) | 327,000 acres (133,000 ha) | 356,000 acres (144,000 ha) |
| 2016 | 37,400 acres (15,100 ha) | 393,000 acres (159,000 ha) | 430,000 acres (174,000 ha) |
| 2017 | 42,200 acres (17,100 ha) | 504,000 acres (204,000 ha) | 546,000 acres (221,000 ha) |
| 2018 | 31,600 acres (12,800 ha) | 340,000 acres (138,000 ha) | 372,000 acres (151,000 ha) |
| 2019 | 27,800 acres (11,300 ha) | 336,000 acres (136,000 ha) | 364,000 acres (147,000 ha) |
| 2020 | 21,800 acres (8,810 ha) | 282,000 acres (114,000 ha) | 304,000 acres (123,000 ha) |
| 2021 | 24,200 acres (9,780 ha) | 260,000 acres (105,000 ha) | 284,000 acres (115,000 ha) |
| 2022 | 24,700 acres (10,000 ha) | 285,000 acres (115,000 ha) | 310,000 acres (125,000 ha) |
| 2023 | 19,100 acres (7,740 ha) | 214,000 acres (86,700 ha) | 233,000 acres (94,400 ha) |
| 2024 | 21,100 acres (8,550 ha) | 233,000 acres (94,200 ha) | 254,000 acres (103,000 ha) |
| 2025 | 27,100 acres (10,900 ha) | 223,000 acres (90,100 ha) | 250,000 acres (101,000 ha) |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 266,000 acres (108,000 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 403,000 acres (163,000 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 546,000 acres (221,000 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Georgia?
- Loggingcan grow back88% · 8.38 million acres (3.39 million ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good5.4% · 510,000 acres (206,000 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good4% · 384,000 acres (155,000 ha)
Also: wildfires, storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, 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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