United States · Wisconsin · 4 places
Air quality in Wisconsin today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Madison has the cleanest air of the 4 Wisconsin cities we track (AQI 36, Good), and Milwaukee the worst (AQI 68, Moderate). Madison has the most tree cover, at 31.2% — #85 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 50
Good
- places tracked
- 4
- average tree cover
- 23.3%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Milwaukee
- 68
- cleanest air now: Madison
- 36
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Wisconsin · average AQI 50
Air quality today across Wisconsin, city by city
| Milwaukee | 68Moderate | 8.9% | 53.4K | #241 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | 36Good | 31.2% | — | #85 of 278 |
| Green Bay | 36Good | 28.4% | 4.7K | #106 of 278 |
| Kenosha | 61Moderate | 24.6% | 12.0K | — |
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 Wisconsin lost?
Since 2001, Wisconsin has lost about 1.3 million acres (525,000 hectares) of forest (about 5,300 km²): 7.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 79,200 acres (32,100 hectares) (6.1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.3 million acres (525,000 ha)about 5,300 km²
- Share of its forest
- 7.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 79,200 acres (32,100 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 | 2,230 acres (901 ha) | 41,400 acres (16,700 ha) | 43,600 acres (17,600 ha) |
| 2002 | 1,840 acres (746 ha) | 33,000 acres (13,400 ha) | 34,900 acres (14,100 ha) |
| 2003 | 1,320 acres (534 ha) | 18,600 acres (7,540 ha) | 20,000 acres (8,080 ha) |
| 2004 | 3,170 acres (1,280 ha) | 46,100 acres (18,700 ha) | 49,300 acres (19,900 ha) |
| 2005 | 3,560 acres (1,440 ha) | 43,100 acres (17,400 ha) | 46,600 acres (18,900 ha) |
| 2006 | 2,890 acres (1,170 ha) | 39,000 acres (15,800 ha) | 41,900 acres (17,000 ha) |
| 2007 | 3,860 acres (1,560 ha) | 52,200 acres (21,100 ha) | 56,000 acres (22,700 ha) |
| 2008 | 2,980 acres (1,210 ha) | 47,200 acres (19,100 ha) | 50,100 acres (20,300 ha) |
| 2009 | 3,390 acres (1,370 ha) | 51,100 acres (20,700 ha) | 54,500 acres (22,100 ha) |
| 2010 | 3,110 acres (1,260 ha) | 44,600 acres (18,000 ha) | 47,700 acres (19,300 ha) |
| 2011 | 3,400 acres (1,380 ha) | 39,800 acres (16,100 ha) | 43,200 acres (17,500 ha) |
| 2012 | 6,180 acres (2,500 ha) | 45,500 acres (18,400 ha) | 51,700 acres (20,900 ha) |
| 2013 | 3,740 acres (1,510 ha) | 32,800 acres (13,300 ha) | 36,600 acres (14,800 ha) |
| 2014 | 4,190 acres (1,700 ha) | 40,100 acres (16,200 ha) | 44,300 acres (17,900 ha) |
| 2015 | 3,370 acres (1,360 ha) | 38,900 acres (15,700 ha) | 42,200 acres (17,100 ha) |
| 2016 | 3,580 acres (1,450 ha) | 49,900 acres (20,200 ha) | 53,500 acres (21,600 ha) |
| 2017 | 3,770 acres (1,520 ha) | 61,300 acres (24,800 ha) | 65,100 acres (26,300 ha) |
| 2018 | 4,350 acres (1,760 ha) | 59,400 acres (24,100 ha) | 63,800 acres (25,800 ha) |
| 2019 | 3,190 acres (1,290 ha) | 72,400 acres (29,300 ha) | 75,600 acres (30,600 ha) |
| 2020 | 2,780 acres (1,130 ha) | 72,700 acres (29,400 ha) | 75,500 acres (30,600 ha) |
| 2021 | 2,710 acres (1,100 ha) | 60,800 acres (24,600 ha) | 63,500 acres (25,700 ha) |
| 2022 | 2,790 acres (1,130 ha) | 62,500 acres (25,300 ha) | 65,300 acres (26,400 ha) |
| 2023 | 2,420 acres (980 ha) | 56,600 acres (22,900 ha) | 59,000 acres (23,900 ha) |
| 2024 | 2,240 acres (907 ha) | 53,400 acres (21,600 ha) | 55,700 acres (22,500 ha) |
| 2025 | 2,150 acres (872 ha) | 56,400 acres (22,800 ha) | 58,600 acres (23,700 ha) |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 60,400 acres (24,400 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 66,700 acres (27,000 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 75,600 acres (30,600 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Wisconsin?
- Loggingcan grow back92% · 1.19 million acres (481,000 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.9% · 50,200 acres (20,300 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good1.7% · 22,700 acres (9,170 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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