Air quality comparison · Ireland, 175 km apart
Dublin vs Limerick Air quality index (AQI) today
Dublin has cleaner air than Limerick right now: AQI 28 (Good) against 57 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Dublin averaged AQI 51 against 56, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Limerick has lost more forest since 2001. Limerick has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Dublin28Limerick57
Head to head
Dublin vs Limerick at a glance
Dublin is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Limerick on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Dublin | Limerick | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 28 (better) | 57 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 5.1 (better) | 12.4 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 51 (better) | 56 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 126 ha (better) | 305 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 19.5% | 24.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 32.0K | 17.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Dublin and Limerick right now?
Dublin has cleaner air than Limerick right now: AQI 28 (Good) against 57 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
DublinLimerick
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, Dublin averaged AQI 51 against 56, 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
- Dublin6Limerick1
- Average AQI
- Dublin51Limerick56
- Worst day, AQI
- Dublin67Limerick70
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Dublin | Limerick |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 23 | 38 |
| Nov 6 | 44 | 55 |
| Nov 7 | 67 | 70 |
| Nov 8 | 59 | 60 |
| Nov 9 | 50 | 58 |
| Nov 10 | 55 | 52 |
| Nov 11 | 56 | 59 |
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 Dublin and Limerick today?
Dublin (AQI 28, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Limerick (AQI 57, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Dublin
- A good day to be active outside.
- Limerick
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Dublin
- Open them to air the house.
- Limerick
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Dublin
- Not needed.
- Limerick
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Dublin
- Not needed.
- Limerick
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Dublin and Limerick compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Dublin's air is cleaner than 81% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Limerick's is cleaner than 51%. Within Ireland, that is 100% and 0% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Dublin
- Beats 81%
- Limerick
- Beats 51%
More tree cover than…
- Dublin
- Beats 45%
- Limerick
- Beats 56%
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, Dublin or Limerick?
Limerick has lost more: about 305 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 126 ha around Dublin. 19 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: 2007, with 23 ha lost.
Worst year: 2019, with 39 ha lost.
| Dublin | Limerick | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 126 ha (better) | 305 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 5% (better) | 10% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 23 ha | 19 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Logging (72%) | Logging (91%) |
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.
Dublin
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
Limerick
2018: satellite photo from June 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Dublin or Limerick?
Limerick has more tree cover: 24.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.5% around Dublin, or about 71,700 trees against 59,423.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Dublin | Limerick | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 59.4K | 71.7K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 32.0K | 17.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.3M kg | 1.6M 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
Dublin vs Limerick: your questions answered
Is Dublin cleaner than Limerick?
On air quality, yes, right now: Dublin reads AQI 28 against 57, a gap of 29 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, Dublin averaged AQI 51 against 56, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Dublin and Limerick today?
In Dublin, at AQI 28: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Limerick, at AQI 57: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Dublin or Limerick?
Limerick has lost more: about 305 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 126 ha around Dublin. 19 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Dublin or Limerick?
Limerick has more tree cover: 24.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.5% around Dublin, or about 71,700 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 Dublin and Limerick need?
Dublin needs about 31,997 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Limerick about 17,553 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Dublin and Limerick 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 Dublin vs Limerick 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 11, 2026 and Jul 13, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Dublin with somewhere else
This place
Dublin