Air quality comparison · Poland, 117 km apart
Łódź vs Warsaw Air quality index (AQI) today
Warsaw has cleaner air than Łódź right now: AQI 77 (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 105, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Łódź has lost more forest since 2001. Łódź has more tree cover.
Poland
AQI 137
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 50 µg/m³3.3× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 17:00 local
Poland
AQI 77
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 23.1 µg/m³1.5× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 16:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Łódź137Warsaw77
Head to head
Łódź vs Warsaw at a glance
Łódź and Warsaw are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Łódź | Warsaw | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 137 | 77 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 50 | 23.1 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 101 (better) | 105 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 255 ha | 144 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 34.7% (better) | 26.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 942 (better) | 9.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Łódź and Warsaw right now?
Warsaw has cleaner air than Łódź right now: AQI 77 (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. Warsaw's PM2.5 is about 1.5× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
ŁódźWarsaw
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 105, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 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
- Łódź3Warsaw3
- Average AQI
- Łódź101Warsaw105
- Worst day, AQI
- Łódź133Warsaw143
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Łódź | Warsaw |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 77 | 81 |
| Nov 5 | 93 | 89 |
| Nov 6 | 85 | 71 |
| Nov 7 | 97 | 112 |
| Nov 8 | 119 | 143 |
| Nov 9 | 133 | 131 |
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 Łódź and Warsaw today?
Łódź (AQI 137, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Warsaw (AQI 77, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Łódź
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Warsaw
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Łódź
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Warsaw
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Łódź
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Warsaw
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Łódź
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Warsaw
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Łódź and Warsaw compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Łódź's air is cleaner than 13% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Warsaw's is cleaner than 33%. Within Poland, that is 0% and 47% of its 39 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Łódź
- Beats 13%
- Warsaw
- Beats 33%
More tree cover than…
- Łódź
- Beats 77%
- Warsaw
- Beats 62%
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, Łódź or Warsaw?
Łódź has lost more: about 255 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 144 ha around Warsaw. 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: 2005, with 36 ha lost.
Worst year: 2010, with 20 ha lost.
| Łódź | Warsaw | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 255 ha | 144 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.9% | 3% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 209 ha | 121 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (79%) | Towns and roads (84%) |
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.
Łódź
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Warsaw
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Łódź or Warsaw?
Łódź has more tree cover: 34.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 26.9% around Warsaw, or about 109,013 trees against 82,988.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Łódź | Warsaw | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 109K (better) | 83.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 942 (better) | 9.6K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.4M kg (better) | 1.8M 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
Łódź vs Warsaw: your questions answered
Is Warsaw cleaner than Łódź?
On air quality, yes, right now: Warsaw reads AQI 77 against 137, a gap of 60 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 105, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Łódź and Warsaw today?
In Łódź, at AQI 137: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Warsaw, at AQI 77: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Łódź or Warsaw?
Łódź has lost more: about 255 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 144 ha around Warsaw. 209 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Łódź or Warsaw?
Łódź has more tree cover: 34.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 26.9% around Warsaw, or about 109,013 trees against 82,988. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Łódź and Warsaw need?
Łódź needs about 942 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Warsaw about 9,564 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Łódź and Warsaw 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 Łódź vs Warsaw 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 8, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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