United States · Louisiana · 5 places
Air quality in Louisiana today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Lafayette has the cleanest air of the 4 Louisiana cities we track (AQI 66, Moderate), and Shreveport the worst (AQI 99, Moderate). Lafayette has the most tree cover, at 42.6% — #26 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 85
Moderate
- places tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 29.8%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Shreveport
- 99
- cleanest air now: Lafayette
- 66
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Louisiana · average AQI 85
Air quality today across Louisiana, city by city
| New Orleans | 91Moderate | 10.2% | 56.9K | #233 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baton Rouge | 85Moderate | 34.9% | — | #64 of 278 |
| Shreveport | 99Moderate | 31.3% | — | #84 of 278 |
| Metairie Terrace | 91Moderate | 25.8% | 13.2K | — |
| Lafayette | 66Moderate | 42.6% | — | #26 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 Louisiana lost?
Since 2001, Louisiana has lost about 5.35 million acres (2.16 million hectares) of forest (about 22,000 km²): 34% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 278,000 acres (113,000 hectares) (5.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 5.35 million acres (2.16 million ha)about 22,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 34%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 278,000 acres (113,000 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 | 10,300 acres (4,160 ha) | 242,000 acres (98,000 ha) | 252,000 acres (102,000 ha) |
| 2002 | 10,300 acres (4,180 ha) | 228,000 acres (92,300 ha) | 238,000 acres (96,400 ha) |
| 2003 | 9,730 acres (3,940 ha) | 209,000 acres (84,400 ha) | 218,000 acres (88,400 ha) |
| 2004 | 16,800 acres (6,780 ha) | 268,000 acres (108,000 ha) | 284,000 acres (115,000 ha) |
| 2005 | 24,900 acres (10,100 ha) | 286,000 acres (116,000 ha) | 311,000 acres (126,000 ha) |
| 2006 | 21,000 acres (8,510 ha) | 277,000 acres (112,000 ha) | 298,000 acres (121,000 ha) |
| 2007 | 16,000 acres (6,470 ha) | 272,000 acres (110,000 ha) | 288,000 acres (117,000 ha) |
| 2008 | 17,000 acres (6,890 ha) | 245,000 acres (99,100 ha) | 262,000 acres (106,000 ha) |
| 2009 | 13,300 acres (5,390 ha) | 216,000 acres (87,400 ha) | 229,000 acres (92,800 ha) |
| 2010 | 15,400 acres (6,210 ha) | 249,000 acres (101,000 ha) | 264,000 acres (107,000 ha) |
| 2011 | 13,600 acres (5,510 ha) | 214,000 acres (86,400 ha) | 227,000 acres (91,900 ha) |
| 2012 | 11,300 acres (4,580 ha) | 232,000 acres (94,000 ha) | 244,000 acres (98,600 ha) |
| 2013 | 7,170 acres (2,900 ha) | 196,000 acres (79,200 ha) | 203,000 acres (82,100 ha) |
| 2014 | 9,110 acres (3,690 ha) | 205,000 acres (83,000 ha) | 214,000 acres (86,700 ha) |
| 2015 | 8,210 acres (3,320 ha) | 185,000 acres (75,000 ha) | 194,000 acres (78,300 ha) |
| 2016 | 9,580 acres (3,880 ha) | 195,000 acres (78,900 ha) | 205,000 acres (82,800 ha) |
| 2017 | 10,600 acres (4,290 ha) | 204,000 acres (82,700 ha) | 215,000 acres (87,000 ha) |
| 2018 | 7,120 acres (2,880 ha) | 181,000 acres (73,400 ha) | 188,000 acres (76,200 ha) |
| 2019 | 5,970 acres (2,420 ha) | 165,000 acres (66,700 ha) | 171,000 acres (69,100 ha) |
| 2020 | 9,980 acres (4,040 ha) | 161,000 acres (65,100 ha) | 171,000 acres (69,200 ha) |
| 2021 | 5,580 acres (2,260 ha) | 131,000 acres (53,100 ha) | 137,000 acres (55,400 ha) |
| 2022 | 7,400 acres (3,000 ha) | 137,000 acres (55,600 ha) | 145,000 acres (58,600 ha) |
| 2023 | 6,740 acres (2,730 ha) | 138,000 acres (55,900 ha) | 145,000 acres (58,600 ha) |
| 2024 | 4,900 acres (1,980 ha) | 119,000 acres (48,200 ha) | 124,000 acres (50,200 ha) |
| 2025 | 6,040 acres (2,450 ha) | 114,000 acres (46,100 ha) | 120,000 acres (48,500 ha) |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 134,000 acres (54,200 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 190,000 acres (76,900 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2005, when about 311,000 acres (126,000 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Louisiana?
- Loggingcan grow back94% · 5 million acres (2.03 million ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good2.9% · 153,000 acres (62,100 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.9% · 99,000 acres (40,000 ha)
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, wildfires, 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
Other states
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Louisiana
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
- The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
Air purifiers that keep up with wildfire smoke and winter smog, ranked by verified smoke CADR, with the room each one clears on a smoky day.
- The best air purifiers for bedrooms: quiet picks sized for your room
Quiet HEPA air purifiers for bedrooms, compared on what matters at night: noise on the lowest setting (from 20 dB), verified room size and filter cost.
- The best air purifiers under $200
Good HEPA air purifiers under $200 at the makers' own prices, compared on verified clean air, room size and what the filters cost each year.
Your own street