Air quality comparison · Israel, 54 km apart
Jerusalem vs Tel Aviv Air quality index (AQI) today
Jerusalem has cleaner air than Tel Aviv right now: AQI 51 (Moderate) against 66 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, both averaged AQI 45. Jerusalem has lost more forest since 2001. Tel Aviv has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Jerusalem51Tel Aviv66
Head to head
Jerusalem vs Tel Aviv at a glance
Tel Aviv is ahead on 3 of 6 measures, and Jerusalem on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Jerusalem | Tel Aviv | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 51 (better) | 66 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 9.1 (better) | 17.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 45 | 45 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 21 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 12.6% | 13.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 54.7K | 46.1K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv right now?
Jerusalem has cleaner air than Tel Aviv right now: AQI 51 (Moderate) against 66 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Tel Aviv's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
JerusalemTel Aviv
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).
Jerusalem: Ground station · Jerusalem, Efrat - the UN, Israel (ישראל,אפרתה -י''ם, ירושלים), 1.3 km away · median of 3 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Tel Aviv: Ground station · The Peace Train - Gush Dan, Israel (ישראל,רכבת השלום, גוש דן), 1.5 km away · median of 5 stations. 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 45. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Jerusalem2Tel Aviv3
- Average AQI
- Jerusalem45Tel Aviv45
- Worst day, AQI
- Jerusalem61Tel Aviv61
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Jerusalem | Tel Aviv |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 61 | 61 |
| Nov 5 | 60 | 55 |
| Nov 6 | 45 | 39 |
| Nov 7 | 28 | 28 |
| Nov 8 | 33 | 36 |
| Nov 9 | 43 | 41 |
| Nov 10 | 44 | 54 |
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 Jerusalem and Tel Aviv today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Jerusalem and Tel Aviv compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Jerusalem's air is cleaner than 60% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Tel Aviv's is cleaner than 41%. Within Israel, that is 82% and 27% of its 12 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Jerusalem
- Beats 60%
- Tel Aviv
- Beats 41%
More tree cover than…
- Jerusalem
- Beats 28%
- Tel Aviv
- Beats 30%
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, Jerusalem or Tel Aviv?
Jerusalem has lost more: about 21 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Tel Aviv. 7 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: 2013, with 4 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with 1 ha lost.
| Jerusalem | Tel Aviv | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 21 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 7 ha | 5 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Wildfires (54%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (77%) |
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.
Jerusalem
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Tel Aviv
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Jerusalem or Tel Aviv?
Tel Aviv has more tree cover: 13.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.6% around Jerusalem, or about 36,202 trees against 39,584.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Jerusalem | Tel Aviv | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 39.6K (better) | 36.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 54.7K | 46.1K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 871K kg (better) | 796K 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
Jerusalem vs Tel Aviv: your questions answered
Is Jerusalem cleaner than Tel Aviv?
On air quality, yes, right now: Jerusalem reads AQI 51 against 66, a gap of 15 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 45.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Jerusalem reads AQI 51 and Tel Aviv reads AQI 66.
Which has lost more forest, Jerusalem or Tel Aviv?
Jerusalem has lost more: about 21 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Tel Aviv. 7 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Jerusalem or Tel Aviv?
Tel Aviv has more tree cover: 13.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.6% around Jerusalem, or about 36,202 trees against 39,584. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Jerusalem and Tel Aviv need?
Jerusalem needs about 54,664 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Tel Aviv about 46,076 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 54 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 Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 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 Jerusalem vs Tel Aviv 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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