Air quality comparison · Ireland, 219 km apart
Cork vs Dublin Air quality index (AQI) today
Dublin has cleaner air than Cork right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 53 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, both averaged AQI 51. Cork has lost more forest since 2001. Cork has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Cork53Dublin27
Head to head
Cork vs Dublin at a glance
Dublin is ahead on 3 of 6 measures, and Cork on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Cork | Dublin | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 53 | 27 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 10 | 4.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 51 | 51 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 180 ha | 126 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 26.1% (better) | 19.5% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 11.9K (better) | 32.0K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Cork and Dublin right now?
Dublin has cleaner air than Cork right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 53 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in Cork, and Ozone in Dublin.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
CorkDublin
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, both averaged AQI 51. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Cork4Dublin2
- Average AQI
- Cork51Dublin51
- Worst day, AQI
- Cork63Dublin67
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Cork | Dublin |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 36 | 23 |
| Nov 6 | 54 | 44 |
| Nov 7 | 63 | 67 |
| Nov 8 | 59 | 59 |
| Nov 9 | 48 | 50 |
| Nov 10 | 51 | 55 |
| Nov 11 | 48 | 56 |
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 Cork and Dublin today?
Cork (AQI 53, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Dublin (AQI 27, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Cork
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Dublin
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Cork
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Dublin
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Cork
- Not needed for most people.
- Dublin
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Cork
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Dublin
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Cork and Dublin compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Cork's air is cleaner than 57% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Dublin's is cleaner than 82%. Within Ireland, that is 75% and 100% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Cork
- Beats 57%
- Dublin
- Beats 82%
More tree cover than…
- Cork
- Beats 60%
- Dublin
- Beats 45%
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, Cork or Dublin?
Cork has lost more: about 180 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 126 ha around Dublin. 134 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: 2001, with 48 ha lost.
Worst year: 2007, with 23 ha lost.
| Cork | Dublin | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 180 ha | 126 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.9% (better) | 5% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 134 ha | 23 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (59%) | Logging (72%) |
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.
Cork
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Dublin
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Cork or Dublin?
Cork has more tree cover: 26.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.5% around Dublin, or about 79,454 trees against 59,423.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Cork | Dublin | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 79.5K (better) | 59.4K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 11.9K (better) | 32.0K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.7M kg (better) | 1.3M 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
Cork vs Dublin: your questions answered
Is Dublin cleaner than Cork?
On air quality, yes, right now: Dublin reads AQI 27 against 53, a gap of 26 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, both averaged AQI 51.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Cork and Dublin today?
In Cork, at AQI 53: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Dublin, at AQI 27: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Cork or Dublin?
Cork has lost more: about 180 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 126 ha around Dublin. 134 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Cork or Dublin?
Cork has more tree cover: 26.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.5% around Dublin, or about 79,454 trees against 59,423. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Cork and Dublin need?
Cork needs about 11,872 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Dublin about 31,997 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Cork and Dublin 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 Cork vs Dublin 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 22, 2026 and Aug 11, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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