City report · England, United Kingdom
Sunderland Air quality today
Air quality in Sunderland currently reads AQI 9 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 9
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 1.6
- tree cover
- 17.5%
- trees in this area
- 47.8K
- more trees needed
- 34.2K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around City Centre, Sunderland, UK (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Jul 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Sunderland · AQI 9 (Good)
Sunderland's tree count comes to 47,831 trees across 4.2 sq mi (10.94 km²) of land, 13 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 34,165 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Sunderland today: AQI 9, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Peterlee Claire rd, 10.4 mi (16.7 km) away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
1.6
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sunderland's daily AQI at 33 on average, from 9 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 60 on Nov 10.
This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index
Where Sunderland stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Sunderland: Critically low
17.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.2 sq mi (10.94 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
47,831
Target trees
81,996
More trees needed
34,165
CO₂ if planted / yr
751.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sunderland lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sunderland has lost about 14 hectares of forest (about 20 football pitches): 1.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (65%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 14 haabout 20 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 9 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 7 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4 ha | 3 ha | 7 ha |
| 2002 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Sunderland?
- Towns and roadscleared for good33% · 5 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good33% · 5 ha
- Loggingcan grow back4.9% · under 1 ha
Also: unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 808 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,160 ha
- Overall change
- +354 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sunderland grew from about 808 hectares to 1,160 hectares, a net gain of about 354 hectares (+44%). New forest grew on about 366 hectares, while 11 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
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. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Sunderland
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Newcastle upon Tyne16.7 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 56
- Middlesbrough37.7 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 33
- York107.1 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 42
- Leeds123.7 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 27
- Bradford125.8 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 15
- Burnley134.6 km
United Kingdom
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 67
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Frequently asked
Questions about Sunderland
What is the air quality (AQI) in Sunderland right now?
The latest reading for Sunderland shows an AQI of 9 (Good), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by the Peterlee Claire rd ground monitoring station, 10.4 mi (16.7 km) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Sunderland today?
At AQI 9 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Sunderland been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sunderland's daily AQI at 33 on average, from 9 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 60 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Is Sunderland's AQI the same as the UK's Daily Air Quality Index?
No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. The UK's Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI), published by Defra, runs from 1 to 10: 1–3 low, 4–6 moderate, 7–9 high and 10 very high. It is a different scale altogether, so a US AQI figure can't be read on it directly; both, though, are built from the same main pollutants, with fine particles (PM2.5) usually the one that decides the reading.
How much forest has the area around Sunderland lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sunderland has lost about 14 hectares of forest (about 20 football pitches): 1.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (65%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sunderland grew from about 808 hectares to 1,160 hectares, a net gain of about 354 hectares (+44%). New forest grew on about 366 hectares, while 11 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Sunderland?
Sunderland has an estimated 47,831 trees across the 4.2 sq mi (10.94 km²) of land measured — 17.5% tree cover, 13 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Sunderland need?
Sunderland needs roughly 34,165 more trees to close a 13-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 751.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Sunderland's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near City Centre, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around City Centre; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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