Air quality comparison · Syria, 310 km apart
Aleppo vs Damascus Air quality index (AQI) today
Aleppo and Damascus are level right now: both read AQI 62 (Moderate).
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Damascus averaged AQI 36 against 41, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Damascus has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Aleppo62Damascus62
Head to head
Aleppo vs Damascus at a glance
Damascus is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Aleppo on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Aleppo | Damascus | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 62 | 62 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 15.3 | 14 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 41 | 36 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.9% | 5.9% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 88.3K | 75.7K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Aleppo and Damascus right now?
Aleppo and Damascus are level right now: both read AQI 62 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Aleppo's PM2.5 is about 1.0× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
AleppoDamascus
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Aleppo: Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 105 km, e.g. Kilis and Antakya. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index.
Damascus: Estimate · model corrected with 8 station cities within 205 km, e.g. Zahlé and Aley. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 8 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Damascus averaged AQI 36 against 41, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Aleppo3Damascus4
- Average AQI
- Aleppo41Damascus36
- Worst day, AQI
- Aleppo53Damascus51
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Aleppo | Damascus |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 41 | 39 |
| Nov 6 | 45 | 32 |
| Nov 7 | 53 | 20 |
| Nov 8 | 33 | 26 |
| Nov 9 | 31 | 41 |
| Nov 10 | 37 | 43 |
| Nov 11 | 48 | 51 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Aleppo and Damascus today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Aleppo and Damascus compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Aleppo's air is cleaner than 46% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Damascus's is cleaner than 46%. Within Syria, that is 8% and 8% of its 13 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Aleppo
- Beats 46%
- Damascus
- Beats 46%
More tree cover than…
- Aleppo
- Beats 4%
- Damascus
- Beats 12%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Aleppo
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Damascus
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Aleppo or Damascus?
Damascus has more tree cover: 5.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.9% around Aleppo, or about 18,535 trees against 5,969.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Aleppo | Damascus | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 6.0K | 18.5K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 88.3K | 75.7K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 131K kg | 408K kg (better) |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Aleppo vs Damascus: your questions answered
Is Aleppo cleaner than Damascus?
On air quality they are level right now: both read 62 on the US EPA index. Air quality changes through the day, so this can separate within hours. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Damascus averaged AQI 36 against 41, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Aleppo and Damascus today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Aleppo reads AQI 62 and Damascus reads AQI 62.
Which has more trees, Aleppo or Damascus?
Damascus has more tree cover: 5.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.9% around Aleppo, or about 18,535 trees against 5,969. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Aleppo and Damascus need?
Aleppo needs about 88,279 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Damascus about 75,712 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Aleppo and Damascus measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Aleppo vs Damascus comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Sep 16, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Aleppo with somewhere else
This place
Aleppo