Air quality comparison · Palestinian Territory, 60 km apart
Gaza vs Hebron Air quality index (AQI) today
Hebron has cleaner air than Gaza right now: AQI 31 (Good) against 54 (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 42. Hebron has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Gaza54Hebron31
Head to head
Gaza vs Hebron at a glance
Hebron is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Gaza on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Gaza | Hebron | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 54 | 31 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 10.6 | 5.5 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 42 | 42 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 0.6% | 1.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 92.4K | 90.5K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Gaza and Hebron right now?
Hebron has cleaner air than Gaza right now: AQI 31 (Good) against 54 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
GazaHebron
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).
Gaza: Ground station · Cedar, southern coastal plain, Israel (ישראל,ארז, מישור החוף הדרומי), 11.4 km away · median of 3 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Hebron: Ground station · Judea, Gush Etzion, Israel (ישראל,גוש עציון, איזור יהודה), 14.3 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, both averaged AQI 42. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Gaza2Hebron4
- Average AQI
- Gaza42Hebron42
- Worst day, AQI
- Gaza56Hebron55
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Gaza | Hebron |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 54 | 55 |
| Nov 6 | 30 | 42 |
| Nov 7 | 29 | 28 |
| Nov 8 | 32 | 32 |
| Nov 9 | 39 | 37 |
| Nov 10 | 56 | 45 |
| Nov 11 | 55 | 52 |
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 Gaza and Hebron today?
Gaza (AQI 54, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Hebron (AQI 31, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Gaza
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Hebron
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Gaza
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Hebron
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Gaza
- Not needed for most people.
- Hebron
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Gaza
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Hebron
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Gaza and Hebron compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Gaza's air is cleaner than 55% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Hebron's is cleaner than 79%. Within Palestinian Territory, that is 25% and 100% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Gaza
- Beats 55%
- Hebron
- Beats 79%
More tree cover than…
- Gaza
- Beats 1%
- Hebron
- Beats 2%
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.
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.
Gaza
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Hebron
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Gaza or Hebron?
Hebron has more tree cover: 1.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.6% around Gaza, or about 3,770 trees against 1,885.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Gaza | Hebron | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 1.9K | 3.8K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 92.4K | 90.5K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 41.5K kg | 82.9K 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
Gaza vs Hebron: your questions answered
Is Hebron cleaner than Gaza?
On air quality, yes, right now: Hebron reads AQI 31 against 54, 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, both averaged AQI 42.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Gaza and Hebron today?
In Gaza, at AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Hebron, at AQI 31: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has more trees, Gaza or Hebron?
Hebron has more tree cover: 1.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.6% around Gaza, or about 3,770 trees against 1,885. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Gaza and Hebron need?
Gaza needs about 92,363 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Hebron about 90,478 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 60 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Gaza and Hebron 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 Gaza vs Hebron 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 16, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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