United States · Illinois · 8 places
Air quality in Illinois today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Peoria has the cleanest air of the 8 Illinois cities we track (AQI 52, Moderate), and Joliet the worst (AQI 88, Moderate). Naperville has the most tree cover, at 51.1% — #14 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 73
Moderate
- places tracked
- 8
- average tree cover
- 35.7%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Joliet
- 88
- cleanest air now: Peoria
- 52
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Illinois · average AQI 73
Air quality today across Illinois, city by city
| Chicago | 87Moderate | 8.2% | 67.5K | #247 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockford | 80Moderate | 39.8% | — | #38 of 278 |
| Joliet | 88Moderate | 35.5% | — | #62 of 278 |
| Naperville | 71Moderate | 51.1% | — | #14 of 278 |
| Peoria | 52Moderate | 31.3% | — | #83 of 278 |
| Elgin | 71Moderate | 46.9% | — | #20 of 278 |
| Aurora | 71Moderate | 39.3% | — | #41 of 278 |
| Springfield | 67Moderate | 33.3% | — | #73 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 Illinois lost?
Since 2001, Illinois has lost about 75,700 acres (30,600 hectares) of forest (about 57,000 football fields): 1.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (57%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 75,700 acres (30,600 ha)about 57,000 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 1.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 43,300 acres (17,500 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 | 1,130 acres (459 ha) | 1,240 acres (500 ha) | 2,370 acres (959 ha) |
| 2002 | 1,030 acres (418 ha) | 764 acres (309 ha) | 1,800 acres (727 ha) |
| 2003 | 702 acres (284 ha) | 751 acres (304 ha) | 1,450 acres (588 ha) |
| 2004 | 813 acres (329 ha) | 640 acres (259 ha) | 1,450 acres (588 ha) |
| 2005 | 1,060 acres (430 ha) | 828 acres (335 ha) | 1,890 acres (765 ha) |
| 2006 | 1,090 acres (441 ha) | 640 acres (259 ha) | 1,730 acres (700 ha) |
| 2007 | 1,220 acres (493 ha) | 680 acres (275 ha) | 1,900 acres (768 ha) |
| 2008 | 1,210 acres (490 ha) | 635 acres (257 ha) | 1,850 acres (747 ha) |
| 2009 | 1,650 acres (666 ha) | 1,510 acres (613 ha) | 3,160 acres (1,280 ha) |
| 2010 | 937 acres (379 ha) | 618 acres (250 ha) | 1,550 acres (629 ha) |
| 2011 | 1,070 acres (431 ha) | 749 acres (303 ha) | 1,810 acres (734 ha) |
| 2012 | 2,180 acres (881 ha) | 1,330 acres (540 ha) | 3,510 acres (1,420 ha) |
| 2013 | 3,310 acres (1,340 ha) | 2,740 acres (1,110 ha) | 6,050 acres (2,450 ha) |
| 2014 | 1,830 acres (739 ha) | 870 acres (352 ha) | 2,700 acres (1,090 ha) |
| 2015 | 1,660 acres (671 ha) | 534 acres (216 ha) | 2,190 acres (887 ha) |
| 2016 | 2,470 acres (998 ha) | 1,170 acres (475 ha) | 3,640 acres (1,470 ha) |
| 2017 | 4,260 acres (1,720 ha) | 3,150 acres (1,270 ha) | 7,410 acres (3,000 ha) |
| 2018 | 3,230 acres (1,310 ha) | 2,030 acres (821 ha) | 5,260 acres (2,130 ha) |
| 2019 | 1,710 acres (690 ha) | 1,090 acres (441 ha) | 2,790 acres (1,130 ha) |
| 2020 | 1,760 acres (712 ha) | 1,460 acres (590 ha) | 3,220 acres (1,300 ha) |
| 2021 | 1,740 acres (704 ha) | 1,170 acres (475 ha) | 2,910 acres (1,180 ha) |
| 2022 | 2,060 acres (835 ha) | 1,800 acres (730 ha) | 3,870 acres (1,570 ha) |
| 2023 | 2,130 acres (862 ha) | 1,490 acres (602 ha) | 3,620 acres (1,460 ha) |
| 2024 | 1,870 acres (758 ha) | 1,630 acres (658 ha) | 3,500 acres (1,420 ha) |
| 2025 | 1,210 acres (490 ha) | 2,860 acres (1,160 ha) | 4,070 acres (1,650 ha) |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 3,590 acres (1,450 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 4,460 acres (1,810 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 7,410 acres (3,000 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Illinois?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good38% · 28,900 acres (11,700 ha)
- Loggingcan grow back26% · 20,000 acres (8,110 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good16% · 11,900 acres (4,810 ha)
Also: mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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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