Air quality comparison · Australia, 247 km apart
Canberra vs Sydney Air quality index (AQI) today
Canberra has cleaner air than Sydney right now: AQI 8 (Good) against 31 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Canberra averaged AQI 21 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Canberra has lost more forest since 2001. Canberra has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Canberra8Sydney31
Head to head
Canberra vs Sydney at a glance
Canberra is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Sydney on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Canberra | Sydney | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 8 (better) | 31 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 1.5 (better) | 5.6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 21 (better) | 46 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 1,290 ha | 92 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 42.2% (better) | 28.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 3.8K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Canberra and Sydney right now?
Canberra has cleaner air than Sydney right now: AQI 8 (Good) against 31 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
CanberraSydney
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 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Canberra averaged AQI 21 against 46, 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
- Canberra6Sydney0
- Average AQI
- Canberra21Sydney46
- Worst day, AQI
- Canberra33Sydney60
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Canberra | Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6 | 33 | 54 |
| Nov 7 | 16 | 44 |
| Nov 8 | 11 | 26 |
| Nov 9 | 15 | 37 |
| Nov 10 | 27 | 55 |
| Nov 11 | 26 | 60 |
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 Canberra and Sydney 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 Canberra and Sydney compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Canberra's air is cleaner than 97% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Sydney's is cleaner than 77%. Within Australia, that is 85% and 30% of its 21 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Canberra
- Beats 97%
- Sydney
- Beats 77%
More tree cover than…
- Canberra
- Beats 86%
- Sydney
- Beats 65%
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, Canberra or Sydney?
Canberra has lost more: about 1,290 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 92 ha around Sydney. 1,000 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: 2003, with 599 ha lost.
Worst year: 2020, with 16 ha lost.
| Canberra | Sydney | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1,290 ha | 92 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 39% | 4.7% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1,000 ha | 27 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (42%) | Wildfires (59%) |
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.
Canberra
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Sydney
2018: satellite photo from December 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Canberra or Sydney?
Canberra has more tree cover: 42.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 28.3% around Sydney, or about 106,988 trees against 63,657.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Canberra | Sydney | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 107K (better) | 63.7K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 3.8K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.4M kg (better) | 1.4M kg |
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
Canberra vs Sydney: your questions answered
Is Canberra cleaner than Sydney?
On air quality, yes, right now: Canberra reads AQI 8 against 31, a gap of 23 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Canberra averaged AQI 21 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Canberra and Sydney today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Canberra reads AQI 8 and Sydney reads AQI 31.
Which has lost more forest, Canberra or Sydney?
Canberra has lost more: about 1,290 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 92 ha around Sydney. 1,000 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Canberra or Sydney?
Canberra has more tree cover: 42.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 28.3% around Sydney, or about 106,988 trees against 63,657. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Canberra and Sydney need?
Canberra needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Sydney about 3,824 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Canberra and Sydney 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 Canberra vs Sydney 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 (Mar 14, 2026 and Mar 10, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Canberra with somewhere else
This place
Canberra