Air quality comparison · Poland, 193 km apart
Kraków vs Łódź Air quality index (AQI) today
Kraków has cleaner air than Łódź right now: AQI 54 (Moderate) against 137 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Łódź averaged AQI 101 against 134, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Łódź has lost more forest since 2001. Łódź has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kraków54Łódź137
Head to head
Kraków vs Łódź at a glance
Kraków is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Łódź on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kraków | Łódź | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 54 (better) | 137 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 10.7 (better) | 50 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 134 | 101 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 90 ha (better) | 255 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 31.0% | 34.7% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 942 |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kraków and Łódź right now?
Kraków has cleaner air than Łódź right now: AQI 54 (Moderate) against 137 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Łódź's PM2.5 is about 3.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
KrakówŁódź
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 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Łódź averaged AQI 101 against 134, 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
- Kraków0Łódź6
- Average AQI
- Kraków134Łódź101
- Worst day, AQI
- Kraków177Łódź133
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Kraków | Łódź |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 90 | 77 |
| Nov 5 | 117 | 93 |
| Nov 6 | 131 | 85 |
| Nov 7 | 131 | 97 |
| Nov 8 | 157 | 119 |
| Nov 9 | 177 | 133 |
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 Kraków and Łódź today?
Kraków (AQI 54, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Łódź (AQI 137, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Kraków
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Łódź
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Kraków
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Łódź
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Kraków
- Not needed for most people.
- Łódź
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Kraków
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Łódź
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Kraków and Łódź compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kraków's air is cleaner than 56% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Łódź's is cleaner than 13%. Within Poland, that is 95% and 0% of its 39 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kraków
- Beats 56%
- Łódź
- Beats 13%
More tree cover than…
- Kraków
- Beats 70%
- Łódź
- Beats 77%
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, Kraków or Łódź?
Łódź has lost more: about 255 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 90 ha around Kraków. 209 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: 2022, with 9 ha lost.
Worst year: 2005, with 36 ha lost.
| Kraków | Łódź | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 90 ha (better) | 255 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 1.8% (better) | 3.9% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 55 ha (better) | 209 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (62%) | Towns and roads (79%) |
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.
Kraków
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Łódź
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kraków or Łódź?
Łódź has more tree cover: 34.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 31.0% around Kraków, or about 109,013 trees against 93,689.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kraków | Łódź | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 93.7K | 109K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 942 |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.1M kg | 2.4M 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
Kraków vs Łódź: your questions answered
Is Kraków cleaner than Łódź?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kraków reads AQI 54 against 137, a gap of 83 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Łódź averaged AQI 101 against 134, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kraków and Łódź today?
In Kraków, at AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Łódź, at AQI 137: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Kraków or Łódź?
Łódź has lost more: about 255 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 90 ha around Kraków. 209 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kraków or Łódź?
Łódź has more tree cover: 34.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 31.0% around Kraków, or about 109,013 trees against 93,689. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kraków and Łódź need?
Kraków needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Łódź about 942 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kraków and Łódź 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 Kraków vs Łódź 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 18, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Kraków with somewhere else
This place
Kraków