United States · Pennsylvania · 4 places
Air quality in Pennsylvania today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Erie has the cleanest air of the 4 Pennsylvania cities we track (AQI 18, Good), and Pittsburgh the worst (AQI 59, Moderate). Allentown has the most tree cover, at 29.4% — #101 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 36
Good
- places tracked
- 4
- average tree cover
- 23.5%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Pittsburgh
- 59
- cleanest air now: Erie
- 18
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Pennsylvania · average AQI 36
Air quality today across Pennsylvania, city by city
| Philadelphia | 44Good | 11.8% | 55.9K | #218 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 59Moderate | 26.2% | 10.1K | #128 of 278 |
| Allentown | 22Good | 29.4% | 1.9K | #101 of 278 |
| Erie | 18Good | 26.6% | 8.7K | — |
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 Pennsylvania lost?
Since 2001, Pennsylvania has lost about 773,000 acres (313,000 hectares) of forest (about 3,100 km²): 4.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 188,000 acres (75,900 hectares) (24%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 773,000 acres (313,000 ha)about 3,100 km²
- Share of its forest
- 4.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 188,000 acres (75,900 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 | 6,190 acres (2,510 ha) | 13,500 acres (5,470 ha) | 19,700 acres (7,970 ha) |
| 2002 | 6,790 acres (2,750 ha) | 18,200 acres (7,390 ha) | 25,000 acres (10,100 ha) |
| 2003 | 3,430 acres (1,390 ha) | 9,650 acres (3,900 ha) | 13,100 acres (5,290 ha) |
| 2004 | 10,000 acres (4,050 ha) | 19,200 acres (7,750 ha) | 29,200 acres (11,800 ha) |
| 2005 | 10,400 acres (4,220 ha) | 19,400 acres (7,860 ha) | 29,800 acres (12,100 ha) |
| 2006 | 9,360 acres (3,790 ha) | 26,600 acres (10,800 ha) | 35,900 acres (14,500 ha) |
| 2007 | 13,200 acres (5,330 ha) | 30,600 acres (12,400 ha) | 43,800 acres (17,700 ha) |
| 2008 | 8,520 acres (3,450 ha) | 24,200 acres (9,780 ha) | 32,700 acres (13,200 ha) |
| 2009 | 8,160 acres (3,300 ha) | 20,600 acres (8,320 ha) | 28,700 acres (11,600 ha) |
| 2010 | 8,820 acres (3,570 ha) | 22,800 acres (9,230 ha) | 31,600 acres (12,800 ha) |
| 2011 | 9,260 acres (3,750 ha) | 20,200 acres (8,180 ha) | 29,500 acres (11,900 ha) |
| 2012 | 10,100 acres (4,100 ha) | 21,400 acres (8,650 ha) | 31,500 acres (12,800 ha) |
| 2013 | 5,400 acres (2,180 ha) | 16,400 acres (6,620 ha) | 21,800 acres (8,800 ha) |
| 2014 | 5,580 acres (2,260 ha) | 20,200 acres (8,170 ha) | 25,800 acres (10,400 ha) |
| 2015 | 5,730 acres (2,320 ha) | 21,100 acres (8,530 ha) | 26,800 acres (10,900 ha) |
| 2016 | 7,330 acres (2,970 ha) | 20,700 acres (8,370 ha) | 28,000 acres (11,300 ha) |
| 2017 | 9,600 acres (3,880 ha) | 34,600 acres (14,000 ha) | 44,200 acres (17,900 ha) |
| 2018 | 6,730 acres (2,720 ha) | 25,800 acres (10,400 ha) | 32,500 acres (13,200 ha) |
| 2019 | 7,210 acres (2,920 ha) | 25,000 acres (10,100 ha) | 32,200 acres (13,000 ha) |
| 2020 | 6,700 acres (2,710 ha) | 22,100 acres (8,960 ha) | 28,800 acres (11,700 ha) |
| 2021 | 5,750 acres (2,330 ha) | 31,600 acres (12,800 ha) | 37,400 acres (15,100 ha) |
| 2022 | 6,130 acres (2,480 ha) | 32,000 acres (12,900 ha) | 38,100 acres (15,400 ha) |
| 2023 | 5,470 acres (2,210 ha) | 32,400 acres (13,100 ha) | 37,800 acres (15,300 ha) |
| 2024 | 5,720 acres (2,310 ha) | 26,200 acres (10,600 ha) | 31,900 acres (12,900 ha) |
| 2025 | 6,040 acres (2,440 ha) | 31,000 acres (12,500 ha) | 37,000 acres (15,000 ha) |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 36,500 acres (14,800 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 33,200 acres (13,400 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 44,200 acres (17,900 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Pennsylvania?
- Loggingcan grow back72% · 556,000 acres (225,000 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good11% · 84,200 acres (34,100 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good8.2% · 63,200 acres (25,600 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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