Air quality comparison · France, 686 km apart
Nice vs Paris Air quality index (AQI) today
Nice and Paris are level right now: both read AQI 35 (Good).
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Nice averaged AQI 31 against 79, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Nice has lost more forest since 2001. Nice has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Nice35Paris35
Head to head
Nice vs Paris at a glance
Nice is ahead on 3 of 6 measures, and Paris on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Nice | Paris | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 35 | 35 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6.3 | 6.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 31 (better) | 79 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 241 ha | 33 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 22.1% (better) | 12.6% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 21.1K (better) | 50.8K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Nice and Paris right now?
Nice and Paris are level right now: both read AQI 35 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
NiceParis
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?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Nice averaged AQI 31 against 79, 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
- Nice6Paris0
- Average AQI
- Nice31Paris79
- Worst day, AQI
- Nice43Paris95
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Nice | Paris |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 18 | 70 |
| Nov 6 | 26 | 91 |
| Nov 7 | 28 | 95 |
| Nov 8 | 37 | 78 |
| Nov 9 | 43 | 73 |
| Nov 10 | 35 | 68 |
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 Nice and Paris today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Nice and Paris compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Nice's air is cleaner than 75% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Paris's is cleaner than 75%. Within France, that is 50% and 50% of its 39 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Nice
- Beats 75%
- Paris
- Beats 75%
More tree cover than…
- Nice
- Beats 51%
- Paris
- Beats 28%
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, Nice or Paris?
Nice has lost more: about 241 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 33 ha around Paris. 166 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: 2017, with 54 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with 7 ha lost.
| Nice | Paris | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 241 ha | 33 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 4.9% | 1.9% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 166 ha | 18 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (69%) | Towns and roads (55%) |
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.
Nice
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Paris
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Nice or Paris?
Nice has more tree cover: 22.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.6% around Paris, or about 59,154 trees against 36,774.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Nice | Paris | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 59.2K (better) | 36.8K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 21.1K (better) | 50.8K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.3M kg (better) | 809K 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
Nice vs Paris: your questions answered
Is Nice cleaner than Paris?
On air quality they are level right now: both read 35 on the US EPA index. Air quality changes through the day, so this can separate within hours. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Nice averaged AQI 31 against 79, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Nice and Paris today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Nice reads AQI 35 and Paris reads AQI 35.
Which has lost more forest, Nice or Paris?
Nice has lost more: about 241 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 33 ha around Paris. 166 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Nice or Paris?
Nice has more tree cover: 22.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.6% around Paris, or about 59,154 trees against 36,774. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Nice and Paris need?
Nice needs about 21,145 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Paris about 50,783 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Nice and Paris 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 Nice vs Paris 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 19, 2026 and Sep 14, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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