Air quality comparison · United Kingdom, 70.2 mi (113 km) apart
Birmingham vs Manchester Air quality index (AQI) today
Manchester has cleaner air than Birmingham right now: AQI 53 (Moderate) against 56 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Manchester averaged AQI 64 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Manchester has lost more forest since 2001. Birmingham has more tree cover.
United Kingdom
AQI 56
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 11.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 15:00 local
United Kingdom
AQI 53
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 10 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 16:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Birmingham56Manchester53
Head to head
Birmingham vs Manchester at a glance
Birmingham and Manchester are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Birmingham | Manchester | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 56 | 53 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.7 | 10 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 70 | 64 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 12 ha (better) | 26 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 1.2 mi (2 km) of the center. | 15.5% (better) | 13.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 45.2K (better) | 52.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Birmingham and Manchester right now?
Manchester has cleaner air than Birmingham right now: AQI 53 (Moderate) against 56 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
BirminghamManchester
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).
Birmingham: Ground station · Birmingham Ladywood, United Kingdom, 0.7 mi (1.2 km) away · median of 2 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, UK-AIR, air quality information resource - Defra, UK.
Manchester: Ground station · Salford Eccles, 3.8 mi (6.1 km) away. Data: OpenAQ · DEFRA.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Manchester averaged AQI 64 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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
- Birmingham1Manchester6
- Average AQI
- Birmingham70Manchester64
- Worst day, AQI
- Birmingham87Manchester89
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Birmingham | Manchester |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 38 | 31 |
| Nov 6 | 69 | 62 |
| Nov 7 | 87 | 81 |
| Nov 8 | 83 | 89 |
| Nov 9 | 80 | 77 |
| Nov 10 | 73 | 65 |
| Nov 11 | 62 | 40 |
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 Birmingham and Manchester 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 Birmingham and Manchester compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Birmingham's air is cleaner than 52% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Manchester's is cleaner than 57%. Within United Kingdom, that is 33% and 46% of its 92 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Birmingham
- Beats 52%
- Manchester
- Beats 57%
More tree cover than…
- Birmingham
- Beats 36%
- Manchester
- Beats 30%
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, Birmingham or Manchester?
Manchester has lost more: about 26 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 12 ha around Birmingham. 10 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: 2006, with 4 ha lost.
Worst year: 2010, with 5 ha lost.
| Birmingham | Manchester | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 12 ha (better) | 26 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | under 1% (better) | under 1% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 4 ha (better) | 10 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Logging (32%) | Towns and roads (34%) |
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.
Birmingham
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Manchester
2018: satellite photo from June 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Birmingham or Manchester?
Birmingham has more tree cover: 15.5% of the land within 1.2 mi (2 km) of its center against 13.3% around Manchester, or about 48,354 trees against 41,616.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Birmingham | Manchester | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 48.4K (better) | 41.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 45.2K (better) | 52.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.1M kg (better) | 916K kg |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 1.2 mi (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 1.2 mi (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
Birmingham vs Manchester: your questions answered
Is Manchester cleaner than Birmingham?
On air quality, yes, right now: Manchester reads AQI 53 against 56, a gap of 3 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Manchester averaged AQI 64 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Birmingham and Manchester today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Birmingham reads AQI 56 and Manchester reads AQI 53.
Which has lost more forest, Birmingham or Manchester?
Manchester has lost more: about 26 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 12 ha around Birmingham. 10 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Birmingham or Manchester?
Birmingham has more tree cover: 15.5% of the land within 1.2 mi (2 km) of its center against 13.3% around Manchester, or about 48,354 trees against 41,616. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Birmingham and Manchester need?
Birmingham needs about 45,234 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Manchester about 52,255 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Birmingham and Manchester 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 Birmingham vs Manchester 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 (Aug 23, 2026 and Jul 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Birmingham with somewhere else
This place
Birmingham