Air quality comparison · Philippines, 572 km apart
Cebu City vs Manila Air quality index (AQI) today
Cebu City has cleaner air than Manila right now: AQI 18 (Good) against 55 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Cebu City averaged AQI 22 against 43, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Cebu City has lost more forest since 2001. Cebu City has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Cebu City18Manila55
Head to head
Cebu City vs Manila at a glance
Cebu City is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Manila on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Cebu City | Manila | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 18 (better) | 55 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 3.3 (better) | 11.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 22 (better) | 43 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 452 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 24.9% (better) | 10.0% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 16.0K (better) | 60.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Cebu City and Manila right now?
Cebu City has cleaner air than Manila right now: AQI 18 (Good) against 55 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Cebu CityManila
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?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Cebu City averaged AQI 22 against 43, 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
- Cebu City6Manila1
- Average AQI
- Cebu City22Manila43
- Worst day, AQI
- Cebu City35Manila55
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Cebu City | Manila |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 16 | 55 |
| Nov 6 | 19 | 53 |
| Nov 7 | 20 | 39 |
| Nov 8 | 23 | 38 |
| Nov 9 | 35 | 31 |
| Nov 10 | 29 | 45 |
| Nov 11 | 14 | 39 |
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 Cebu City and Manila today?
Cebu City (AQI 18, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Manila (AQI 55, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Cebu City
- A good day to be active outside.
- Manila
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Cebu City
- Open them to air the house.
- Manila
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Cebu City
- Not needed.
- Manila
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Cebu City
- Not needed.
- Manila
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Cebu City and Manila compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Cebu City's air is cleaner than 90% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Manila's is cleaner than 54%. Within Philippines, that is 80% and 43% of its 100 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Cebu City
- Beats 90%
- Manila
- Beats 54%
More tree cover than…
- Cebu City
- Beats 57%
- Manila
- Beats 21%
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, Cebu City or Manila?
Cebu City has lost more: about 452 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Manila. 412 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: 2009, with 102 ha lost.
Worst year: 2019, with 2 ha lost.
| Cebu City | Manila | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 452 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 5.6% | 3.4% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 412 ha | 4 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (51%) | Towns and roads (65%) |
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.
Cebu City
2019: satellite photo from April 2019 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Manila
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Cebu City or Manila?
Cebu City has more tree cover: 24.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.0% around Manila, or about 78,226 trees against 30,096.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Cebu City | Manila | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 78.2K (better) | 30.1K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 16.0K (better) | 60.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.7M kg (better) | 662K 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
Cebu City vs Manila: your questions answered
Is Cebu City cleaner than Manila?
On air quality, yes, right now: Cebu City reads AQI 18 against 55, a gap of 37 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, Cebu City averaged AQI 22 against 43, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Cebu City and Manila today?
In Cebu City, at AQI 18: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Manila, at AQI 55: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Cebu City or Manila?
Cebu City has lost more: about 452 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Manila. 412 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Cebu City or Manila?
Cebu City has more tree cover: 24.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.0% around Manila, or about 78,226 trees against 30,096. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Cebu City and Manila need?
Cebu City needs about 16,022 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Manila about 60,193 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Cebu City and Manila 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 Cebu City vs Manila 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 12, 2026 and Sep 13, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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