Air quality comparison · Spain, 504 km apart
Barcelona vs Madrid Air quality index (AQI) today
Barcelona has cleaner air than Madrid right now: AQI 31 (Good) against 33 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Madrid averaged AQI 55 against 64, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Madrid has lost more forest since 2001. Madrid has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Barcelona31Madrid33
Head to head
Barcelona vs Madrid at a glance
Barcelona and Madrid are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Barcelona | Madrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 31 (better) | 33 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 5.6 (better) | 6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 64 | 55 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 48 ha (better) | 461 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 9.6% | 18.9% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 64.1K | 34.8K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Barcelona and Madrid right now?
Barcelona has cleaner air than Madrid right now: AQI 31 (Good) against 33 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
BarcelonaMadrid
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).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Madrid averaged AQI 55 against 64, 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
- Barcelona3Madrid4
- Average AQI
- Barcelona64Madrid55
- Worst day, AQI
- Barcelona78Madrid80
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Barcelona | Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 37 | 42 |
| Nov 5 | 67 | 59 |
| Nov 6 | 61 | 73 |
| Nov 7 | 78 | 80 |
| Nov 8 | 77 | 64 |
| Nov 9 | 66 | 40 |
| Nov 10 | 64 | 24 |
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 Barcelona and Madrid today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Barcelona and Madrid compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Barcelona's air is cleaner than 78% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Madrid's is cleaner than 76%. Within Spain, that is 38% and 25% of its 57 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Barcelona
- Beats 78%
- Madrid
- Beats 76%
More tree cover than…
- Barcelona
- Beats 20%
- Madrid
- Beats 44%
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.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Barcelona or Madrid?
Madrid has lost more: about 461 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 48 ha around Barcelona. 108 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Measured within 10 km of each center, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: a wider circle than the one for tree cover, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Worst year: 2023, with 6 ha lost.
Worst year: 2021, with 346 ha lost.
| Barcelona | Madrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 48 ha (better) | 461 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 1.1% (better) | 27% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 26 ha (better) | 108 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Speeding up |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (53%) | Logging (75%) |
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.
Barcelona
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Madrid
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 4 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Barcelona or Madrid?
Madrid has more tree cover: 18.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.6% around Barcelona, or about 59,257 trees against 30,159.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Barcelona | Madrid | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 30.2K | 59.3K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 64.1K | 34.8K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 663K kg | 1.3M 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
Barcelona vs Madrid: your questions answered
Is Barcelona cleaner than Madrid?
On air quality, yes, right now: Barcelona reads AQI 31 against 33, a gap of 2 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Madrid averaged AQI 55 against 64, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Barcelona and Madrid today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Barcelona reads AQI 31 and Madrid reads AQI 33.
Which has lost more forest, Barcelona or Madrid?
Madrid has lost more: about 461 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 48 ha around Barcelona. 108 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Barcelona or Madrid?
Madrid has more tree cover: 18.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.6% around Barcelona, or about 59,257 trees against 30,159. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Barcelona and Madrid need?
Barcelona needs about 64,088 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Madrid about 34,802 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Barcelona and Madrid 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 come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Barcelona vs Madrid 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 15, 2026 and Sep 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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