Air quality comparison · Poland, 185 km apart
Łódź vs Wrocław Air quality index (AQI) today
Wrocław has cleaner air than Łódź right now: AQI 119 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 137 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Łódź averaged AQI 99 against 101, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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 119
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 42.8 µg/m³2.9× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 17:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Łódź137Wrocław119
Head to head
Łódź vs Wrocław at a glance
Łódź and Wrocław are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Łódź | Wrocław | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 137 | 119 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 50 | 42.8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 99 (better) | 101 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 255 ha | 146 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 34.7% (better) | 29.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 942 (better) | 16.1K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Łódź and Wrocław right now?
Wrocław has cleaner air than Łódź right now: AQI 119 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) 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. Wrocław's PM2.5 is about 2.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
ŁódźWrocław
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?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Łódź averaged AQI 99 against 101, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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
- Łódź4Wrocław3
- Average AQI
- Łódź99Wrocław101
- Worst day, AQI
- Łódź133Wrocław122
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Łódź | Wrocław |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 3 | 90 | 72 |
| Nov 4 | 77 | 67 |
| Nov 5 | 93 | 103 |
| Nov 6 | 85 | 117 |
| Nov 7 | 97 | 118 |
| Nov 8 | 119 | 122 |
| Nov 9 | 133 | 108 |
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 Wrocław today?
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. Both are in the same EPA band today (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Łódź and Wrocław compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Łódź's air is cleaner than 13% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Wrocław's is cleaner than 16%. Within Poland, that is 0% and 3% of its 39 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Łódź
- Beats 13%
- Wrocław
- Beats 16%
More tree cover than…
- Łódź
- Beats 77%
- Wrocław
- Beats 68%
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 Wrocław?
Łódź has lost more: about 255 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 146 ha around Wrocław. 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: 2001, with 22 ha lost.
| Łódź | Wrocław | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 255 ha | 146 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.9% | 2.4% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 209 ha | 115 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 (69%) |
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.
Wrocław
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Łódź or Wrocław?
Łódź has more tree cover: 34.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 29.8% around Wrocław, or about 109,013 trees against 92,122.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Łódź | Wrocław | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 109K (better) | 92.1K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 942 (better) | 16.1K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.4M kg (better) | 2.0M 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 Wrocław: your questions answered
Is Wrocław cleaner than Łódź?
On air quality, yes, right now: Wrocław reads AQI 119 against 137, a gap of 18 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Łódź averaged AQI 99 against 101, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Łódź and Wrocław today?
The advice is the same for both today. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. Łódź reads AQI 137 and Wrocław reads AQI 119.
Which has lost more forest, Łódź or Wrocław?
Łódź has lost more: about 255 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 146 ha around Wrocław. 209 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Łódź or Wrocław?
Łódź has more tree cover: 34.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 29.8% around Wrocław, or about 109,013 trees against 92,122. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Łódź and Wrocław need?
Łódź needs about 942 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Wrocław about 16,075 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Łódź and Wrocław 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 Wrocław 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 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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