Air quality comparison · Latvia, 195 km apart
Liepāja vs Riga Air quality index (AQI) today
Liepāja has cleaner air than Riga right now: AQI 31 (Good) against 81 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Liepāja averaged AQI 36 against 45, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Liepāja has lost more forest since 2001. Riga has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Liepāja31Riga81
Head to head
Liepāja vs Riga at a glance
Liepāja and Riga are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Liepāja | Riga | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 31 (better) | 81 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 3 (better) | 25 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 36 (better) | 45 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 1,380 ha | 1,030 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 23.3% | 27.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 15.5K | 5.3K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Liepāja and Riga right now?
Liepāja has cleaner air than Riga right now: AQI 31 (Good) against 81 (Moderate). Ozone is setting the index in Liepāja, and PM2.5 in Riga.
Riga's PM2.5 is about 1.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
LiepājaRiga
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, Liepāja averaged AQI 36 against 45, 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
- Liepāja6Riga1
- Average AQI
- Liepāja36Riga45
- Worst day, AQI
- Liepāja72Riga76
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Liepāja | Riga |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 16 | 23 |
| Nov 6 | 15 | 25 |
| Nov 7 | 15 | 34 |
| Nov 8 | 19 | 33 |
| Nov 9 | 43 | 57 |
| Nov 10 | 70 | 68 |
| Nov 11 | 72 | 76 |
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 Liepāja and Riga today?
Liepāja (AQI 31, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Riga (AQI 81, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Liepāja
- A good day to be active outside.
- Riga
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Liepāja
- Open them to air the house.
- Riga
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Liepāja
- Not needed.
- Riga
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Liepāja
- Not needed.
- Riga
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Liepāja and Riga compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Liepāja's air is cleaner than 79% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Riga's is cleaner than 30%. Within Latvia, that is 75% and 25% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Liepāja
- Beats 79%
- Riga
- Beats 30%
More tree cover than…
- Liepāja
- Beats 54%
- Riga
- Beats 64%
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, Liepāja or Riga?
Liepāja has lost more: about 1,380 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,030 ha around Riga. 38 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 153 ha lost.
Worst year: 2020, with 166 ha lost.
| Liepāja | Riga | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1,380 ha | 1,030 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 21% | 11% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 38 ha (better) | 280 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Speeding up | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Logging (97%) | Logging (70%) |
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.
Liepāja
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
Riga
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Liepāja or Riga?
Riga has more tree cover: 27.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 23.3% around Liepāja, or about 66,725 trees against 53,948.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Liepāja | Riga | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 53.9K | 66.7K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 15.5K | 5.3K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg | 1.5M 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
Liepāja vs Riga: your questions answered
Is Liepāja cleaner than Riga?
On air quality, yes, right now: Liepāja reads AQI 31 against 81, a gap of 50 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, Liepāja averaged AQI 36 against 45, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Liepāja and Riga today?
In Liepāja, at AQI 31: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Riga, at AQI 81: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Liepāja or Riga?
Liepāja has lost more: about 1,380 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,030 ha around Riga. 38 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Liepāja or Riga?
Riga has more tree cover: 27.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 23.3% around Liepāja, or about 66,725 trees against 53,948. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Liepāja and Riga need?
Liepāja needs about 15,513 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Riga about 5,280 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Liepāja and Riga 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 Liepāja vs Riga 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 11, 2026 and Aug 26, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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