United States · Kansas · 4 places
Air quality in Kansas today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Overland Park has the cleanest air of the 4 Kansas cities we track (AQI 13, Good), and Wichita the worst (AQI 38, Good). Overland Park has the most tree cover, at 69.6% — #3 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 21
Good
- places tracked
- 4
- average tree cover
- 42.6%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Wichita
- 38
- cleanest air now: Overland Park
- 13
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Kansas · average AQI 21
Air quality today across Kansas, city by city
| Wichita | 38Good | 18.5% | 35.8K | #172 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overland Park | 13Good | 69.6% | — | #3 of 278 |
| Olathe | 26Good | 48.4% | — | #17 of 278 |
| Topeka | 8Good | 33.8% | — | #70 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 Kansas lost?
Since 2001, Kansas has lost about 45,800 acres (18,500 hectares) of forest (about 35,000 football fields): 2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (66%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 45,800 acres (18,500 ha)about 35,000 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 30,300 acres (12,200 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 | 1,360 acres (551 ha) | 551 acres (223 ha) | 1,910 acres (774 ha) |
| 2002 | 761 acres (308 ha) | 479 acres (194 ha) | 1,240 acres (502 ha) |
| 2003 | 467 acres (189 ha) | 259 acres (105 ha) | 726 acres (294 ha) |
| 2004 | 890 acres (360 ha) | 689 acres (279 ha) | 1,580 acres (639 ha) |
| 2005 | 892 acres (361 ha) | 432 acres (175 ha) | 1,320 acres (536 ha) |
| 2006 | 793 acres (321 ha) | 385 acres (156 ha) | 1,180 acres (477 ha) |
| 2007 | 1,150 acres (464 ha) | 665 acres (269 ha) | 1,810 acres (733 ha) |
| 2008 | 1,080 acres (439 ha) | 729 acres (295 ha) | 1,810 acres (734 ha) |
| 2009 | 778 acres (315 ha) | 346 acres (140 ha) | 1,120 acres (455 ha) |
| 2010 | 662 acres (268 ha) | 331 acres (134 ha) | 993 acres (402 ha) |
| 2011 | 791 acres (320 ha) | 474 acres (192 ha) | 1,270 acres (512 ha) |
| 2012 | 1,050 acres (425 ha) | 487 acres (197 ha) | 1,540 acres (622 ha) |
| 2013 | 1,920 acres (776 ha) | 1,810 acres (732 ha) | 3,730 acres (1,510 ha) |
| 2014 | 2,300 acres (930 ha) | 1,190 acres (483 ha) | 3,490 acres (1,410 ha) |
| 2015 | 1,120 acres (453 ha) | 215 acres (87 ha) | 1,330 acres (540 ha) |
| 2016 | 2,130 acres (860 ha) | 581 acres (235 ha) | 2,710 acres (1,100 ha) |
| 2017 | 2,140 acres (867 ha) | 492 acres (199 ha) | 2,630 acres (1,070 ha) |
| 2018 | 1,490 acres (603 ha) | 366 acres (148 ha) | 1,860 acres (751 ha) |
| 2019 | 843 acres (341 ha) | 385 acres (156 ha) | 1,230 acres (497 ha) |
| 2020 | 1,740 acres (705 ha) | 759 acres (307 ha) | 2,500 acres (1,010 ha) |
| 2021 | 976 acres (395 ha) | 185 acres (75 ha) | 1,160 acres (470 ha) |
| 2022 | 880 acres (356 ha) | 274 acres (111 ha) | 1,150 acres (467 ha) |
| 2023 | 1,360 acres (549 ha) | 351 acres (142 ha) | 1,710 acres (691 ha) |
| 2024 | 1,330 acres (539 ha) | 487 acres (197 ha) | 1,820 acres (736 ha) |
| 2025 | 1,360 acres (549 ha) | 2,610 acres (1,060 ha) | 3,970 acres (1,610 ha) |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 1,960 acres (794 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 2,180 acres (884 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2025, when about 3,970 acres (1,610 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Kansas?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good51% · 23,500 acres (9,490 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good13% · 5,960 acres (2,410 ha)
- Loggingcan grow back7.6% · 3,490 acres (1,410 ha)
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, 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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