United States · Missouri · 5 places
Air quality in Missouri today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Springfield has the cleanest air of the 5 Missouri cities we track (AQI 31, Good), and St. Louis the worst (AQI 58, Moderate). Independence has the most tree cover, at 56.4% — #8 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 46
Good
- places tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 29.5%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: St. Louis
- 58
- cleanest air now: Springfield
- 31
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Missouri · average AQI 46
Air quality today across Missouri, city by city
| Kansas City | 44Good | 13.8% | 49.1K | #202 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 58Moderate | 7.4% | 63.8K | #251 of 278 |
| Springfield | 31Good | 28.4% | 5.0K | #108 of 278 |
| Independence | 44Good | 56.4% | — | #8 of 278 |
| Columbia | 51Moderate | 41.6% | — | #30 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 Missouri lost?
Since 2001, Missouri has lost about 942,000 acres (381,000 hectares) of forest (about 3,800 km²): 5.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 427,000 acres (173,000 hectares) (45%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 942,000 acres (381,000 ha)about 3,800 km²
- Share of its forest
- 5.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 427,000 acres (173,000 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 | 15,200 acres (6,140 ha) | 24,500 acres (9,910 ha) | 39,600 acres (16,000 ha) |
| 2002 | 14,000 acres (5,650 ha) | 19,100 acres (7,710 ha) | 33,000 acres (13,400 ha) |
| 2003 | 13,100 acres (5,300 ha) | 14,900 acres (6,020 ha) | 28,000 acres (11,300 ha) |
| 2004 | 21,600 acres (8,740 ha) | 19,000 acres (7,680 ha) | 40,600 acres (16,400 ha) |
| 2005 | 18,700 acres (7,570 ha) | 18,900 acres (7,660 ha) | 37,700 acres (15,200 ha) |
| 2006 | 24,500 acres (9,900 ha) | 21,900 acres (8,850 ha) | 46,300 acres (18,800 ha) |
| 2007 | 32,000 acres (13,000 ha) | 40,900 acres (16,600 ha) | 73,000 acres (29,500 ha) |
| 2008 | 18,800 acres (7,630 ha) | 28,300 acres (11,500 ha) | 47,200 acres (19,100 ha) |
| 2009 | 15,100 acres (6,130 ha) | 55,700 acres (22,500 ha) | 70,800 acres (28,700 ha) |
| 2010 | 16,600 acres (6,720 ha) | 16,300 acres (6,610 ha) | 32,900 acres (13,300 ha) |
| 2011 | 15,100 acres (6,090 ha) | 15,900 acres (6,450 ha) | 31,000 acres (12,500 ha) |
| 2012 | 25,400 acres (10,300 ha) | 20,700 acres (8,370 ha) | 46,100 acres (18,600 ha) |
| 2013 | 12,400 acres (5,040 ha) | 17,600 acres (7,140 ha) | 30,100 acres (12,200 ha) |
| 2014 | 16,400 acres (6,620 ha) | 16,700 acres (6,750 ha) | 33,000 acres (13,400 ha) |
| 2015 | 12,200 acres (4,940 ha) | 10,300 acres (4,160 ha) | 22,500 acres (9,100 ha) |
| 2016 | 19,900 acres (8,050 ha) | 16,100 acres (6,500 ha) | 35,900 acres (14,500 ha) |
| 2017 | 28,600 acres (11,600 ha) | 24,800 acres (10,000 ha) | 53,400 acres (21,600 ha) |
| 2018 | 17,700 acres (7,160 ha) | 17,100 acres (6,940 ha) | 34,800 acres (14,100 ha) |
| 2019 | 13,200 acres (5,330 ha) | 14,900 acres (6,030 ha) | 28,100 acres (11,400 ha) |
| 2020 | 13,900 acres (5,640 ha) | 17,000 acres (6,870 ha) | 30,900 acres (12,500 ha) |
| 2021 | 12,600 acres (5,120 ha) | 12,800 acres (5,190 ha) | 25,500 acres (10,300 ha) |
| 2022 | 12,100 acres (4,910 ha) | 11,900 acres (4,830 ha) | 24,100 acres (9,740 ha) |
| 2023 | 14,600 acres (5,900 ha) | 17,200 acres (6,970 ha) | 31,800 acres (12,900 ha) |
| 2024 | 12,900 acres (5,240 ha) | 19,300 acres (7,830 ha) | 32,300 acres (13,100 ha) |
| 2025 | 10,700 acres (4,350 ha) | 22,800 acres (9,230 ha) | 33,500 acres (13,600 ha) |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 29,400 acres (11,900 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 36,600 acres (14,800 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2007, when about 73,000 acres (29,500 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Missouri?
- Loggingcan grow back51% · 485,000 acres (196,000 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good35% · 328,000 acres (133,000 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good9.3% · 87,900 acres (35,600 ha)
Also: mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
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