United States · Massachusetts · 5 places
Air quality in Massachusetts today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Springfield has the cleanest air of the 5 Massachusetts cities we track (AQI 12, Good), and New Bedford the worst (AQI 24, Good). Springfield has the most tree cover, at 31.0% — #86 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 19
Good
- places tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 24.0%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: New Bedford
- 24
- cleanest air now: Springfield
- 12
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Massachusetts · average AQI 19
Air quality today across Massachusetts, city by city
| Boston | 18Good | 12.3% | 38.3K | #214 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester | 21Good | 27.0% | 9.4K | #118 of 278 |
| Lowell | 19Good | 30.5% | — | #91 of 278 |
| New Bedford | 24Good | 19.1% | 26.0K | #167 of 278 |
| Springfield | 12Good | 31.0% | — | #86 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 Massachusetts lost?
Since 2001, Massachusetts has lost about 164,000 acres (66,400 hectares) of forest (about 120,000 football fields): 4.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (50%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 164,000 acres (66,400 ha)about 120,000 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 4.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 82,400 acres (33,300 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 | 3,640 acres (1,470 ha) | 1,640 acres (663 ha) | 5,280 acres (2,140 ha) |
| 2002 | 3,540 acres (1,430 ha) | 1,480 acres (599 ha) | 5,020 acres (2,030 ha) |
| 2003 | 3,450 acres (1,400 ha) | 1,090 acres (442 ha) | 4,540 acres (1,840 ha) |
| 2004 | 4,080 acres (1,650 ha) | 1,880 acres (761 ha) | 5,960 acres (2,410 ha) |
| 2005 | 4,090 acres (1,660 ha) | 1,690 acres (684 ha) | 5,780 acres (2,340 ha) |
| 2006 | 4,420 acres (1,790 ha) | 2,530 acres (1,020 ha) | 6,950 acres (2,810 ha) |
| 2007 | 3,330 acres (1,350 ha) | 2,270 acres (917 ha) | 5,590 acres (2,260 ha) |
| 2008 | 2,890 acres (1,170 ha) | 3,200 acres (1,300 ha) | 6,090 acres (2,470 ha) |
| 2009 | 1,770 acres (717 ha) | 2,030 acres (823 ha) | 3,810 acres (1,540 ha) |
| 2010 | 2,450 acres (990 ha) | 2,190 acres (888 ha) | 4,640 acres (1,880 ha) |
| 2011 | 1,790 acres (726 ha) | 2,830 acres (1,150 ha) | 4,630 acres (1,870 ha) |
| 2012 | 2,700 acres (1,090 ha) | 2,210 acres (893 ha) | 4,910 acres (1,990 ha) |
| 2013 | 1,560 acres (633 ha) | 1,710 acres (691 ha) | 3,270 acres (1,320 ha) |
| 2014 | 2,420 acres (980 ha) | 2,470 acres (999 ha) | 4,890 acres (1,980 ha) |
| 2015 | 2,860 acres (1,160 ha) | 3,650 acres (1,480 ha) | 6,510 acres (2,640 ha) |
| 2016 | 4,540 acres (1,840 ha) | 5,310 acres (2,150 ha) | 9,850 acres (3,990 ha) |
| 2017 | 5,650 acres (2,290 ha) | 8,930 acres (3,610 ha) | 14,600 acres (5,900 ha) |
| 2018 | 4,400 acres (1,780 ha) | 5,350 acres (2,170 ha) | 9,750 acres (3,950 ha) |
| 2019 | 3,620 acres (1,470 ha) | 5,090 acres (2,060 ha) | 8,710 acres (3,520 ha) |
| 2020 | 4,170 acres (1,690 ha) | 5,130 acres (2,080 ha) | 9,300 acres (3,760 ha) |
| 2021 | 3,210 acres (1,300 ha) | 4,500 acres (1,820 ha) | 7,710 acres (3,120 ha) |
| 2022 | 4,010 acres (1,620 ha) | 4,140 acres (1,680 ha) | 8,150 acres (3,300 ha) |
| 2023 | 2,620 acres (1,060 ha) | 3,420 acres (1,380 ha) | 6,040 acres (2,440 ha) |
| 2024 | 2,330 acres (941 ha) | 2,830 acres (1,150 ha) | 5,150 acres (2,090 ha) |
| 2025 | 2,840 acres (1,150 ha) | 4,020 acres (1,630 ha) | 6,860 acres (2,780 ha) |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 6,780 acres (2,750 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 10,400 acres (4,220 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 14,600 acres (5,900 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Massachusetts?
- Loggingcan grow back47% · 76,800 acres (31,100 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good46% · 75,000 acres (30,400 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.3% · 3,780 acres (1,530 ha)
Also: mining and energy, wildfires, 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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