United States · Tennessee · 6 places
Air quality in Tennessee today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Clarksville has the cleanest air of the 5 Tennessee cities we track (AQI 7, Good), and Knoxville the worst (AQI 60, Moderate). Clarksville has the most tree cover, at 43.9% — #24 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
- 6
- average tree cover
- 28.3%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Knoxville
- 60
- cleanest air now: Clarksville
- 7
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Tennessee · average AQI 36
Air quality today across Tennessee, city by city
| Nashville | 33Good | 11.0% | 56.7K | #226 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Memphis | 64Moderate | 43.9% | — | — |
| Knoxville | 60Moderate | 28.6% | 4.1K | #105 of 278 |
| Chattanooga | 53Moderate | 16.4% | 36.4K | #180 of 278 |
| Clarksville | 7Good | 43.9% | — | #24 of 278 |
| Murfreesboro | 28Good | 41.6% | — | #31 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 Tennessee lost?
Since 2001, Tennessee has lost about 1.8 million acres (727,000 hectares) of forest (about 7,300 km²): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 416,000 acres (168,000 hectares) (23%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.8 million acres (727,000 ha)about 7,300 km²
- Share of its forest
- 12%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 416,000 acres (168,000 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 | 19,000 acres (7,690 ha) | 86,500 acres (35,000 ha) | 106,000 acres (42,700 ha) |
| 2002 | 14,900 acres (6,050 ha) | 65,500 acres (26,500 ha) | 80,500 acres (32,600 ha) |
| 2003 | 11,800 acres (4,780 ha) | 53,400 acres (21,600 ha) | 65,200 acres (26,400 ha) |
| 2004 | 23,600 acres (9,570 ha) | 75,100 acres (30,400 ha) | 98,800 acres (40,000 ha) |
| 2005 | 22,500 acres (9,110 ha) | 76,800 acres (31,100 ha) | 99,300 acres (40,200 ha) |
| 2006 | 24,700 acres (9,990 ha) | 76,900 acres (31,100 ha) | 102,000 acres (41,100 ha) |
| 2007 | 28,400 acres (11,500 ha) | 78,700 acres (31,900 ha) | 107,000 acres (43,400 ha) |
| 2008 | 24,200 acres (9,780 ha) | 72,400 acres (29,300 ha) | 96,600 acres (39,100 ha) |
| 2009 | 13,200 acres (5,360 ha) | 43,700 acres (17,700 ha) | 57,000 acres (23,100 ha) |
| 2010 | 17,500 acres (7,080 ha) | 62,900 acres (25,500 ha) | 80,400 acres (32,500 ha) |
| 2011 | 14,400 acres (5,840 ha) | 47,400 acres (19,200 ha) | 61,800 acres (25,000 ha) |
| 2012 | 16,300 acres (6,600 ha) | 54,100 acres (21,900 ha) | 70,400 acres (28,500 ha) |
| 2013 | 11,800 acres (4,780 ha) | 44,100 acres (17,800 ha) | 55,900 acres (22,600 ha) |
| 2014 | 12,900 acres (5,220 ha) | 42,200 acres (17,100 ha) | 55,100 acres (22,300 ha) |
| 2015 | 14,400 acres (5,830 ha) | 49,700 acres (20,100 ha) | 64,100 acres (25,900 ha) |
| 2016 | 22,200 acres (9,000 ha) | 55,500 acres (22,500 ha) | 77,700 acres (31,500 ha) |
| 2017 | 20,400 acres (8,270 ha) | 73,400 acres (29,700 ha) | 93,900 acres (38,000 ha) |
| 2018 | 14,600 acres (5,900 ha) | 44,300 acres (17,900 ha) | 58,900 acres (23,800 ha) |
| 2019 | 13,700 acres (5,540 ha) | 44,300 acres (17,900 ha) | 58,000 acres (23,500 ha) |
| 2020 | 12,900 acres (5,220 ha) | 42,000 acres (17,000 ha) | 54,900 acres (22,200 ha) |
| 2021 | 13,000 acres (5,260 ha) | 38,600 acres (15,600 ha) | 51,600 acres (20,900 ha) |
| 2022 | 13,400 acres (5,420 ha) | 45,500 acres (18,400 ha) | 58,900 acres (23,800 ha) |
| 2023 | 10,900 acres (4,410 ha) | 33,400 acres (13,500 ha) | 44,300 acres (17,900 ha) |
| 2024 | 12,600 acres (5,080 ha) | 36,300 acres (14,700 ha) | 48,800 acres (19,800 ha) |
| 2025 | 12,700 acres (5,130 ha) | 37,000 acres (15,000 ha) | 49,700 acres (20,100 ha) |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 50,700 acres (20,500 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 68,700 acres (27,800 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2007, when about 107,000 acres (43,400 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Tennessee?
- Loggingcan grow back75% · 1.35 million acres (548,000 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good14% · 246,000 acres (99,500 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.9% · 160,000 acres (64,800 ha)
Also: wildfires, mining and energy, 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
Other states
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Tennessee
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