Air quality comparison · Poland, 278 km apart
Poznań vs Warsaw Air quality index (AQI) today
Warsaw has cleaner air than Poznań right now: AQI 72 (Moderate) against 78 (Moderate).
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, Poznań averaged AQI 102 against 108, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Poznań has lost more forest since 2001. Poznań has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Poznań78Warsaw72
Head to head
Poznań vs Warsaw at a glance
Poznań and Warsaw are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Poznań | Warsaw | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 78 | 72 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 23.6 | 20.4 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 102 (better) | 108 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 495 ha | 144 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 34.5% (better) | 26.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 9.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Poznań and Warsaw right now?
Warsaw has cleaner air than Poznań right now: AQI 72 (Moderate) against 78 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Poznań's PM2.5 is about 1.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Warsaw's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
PoznańWarsaw
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, Poznań averaged AQI 102 against 108, 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
- Poznań3Warsaw3
- Average AQI
- Poznań102Warsaw108
- Worst day, AQI
- Poznań148Warsaw143
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Poznań | Warsaw |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 56 | 81 |
| Nov 5 | 98 | 89 |
| Nov 6 | 71 | 71 |
| Nov 7 | 84 | 112 |
| Nov 8 | 124 | 143 |
| Nov 9 | 148 | 131 |
| Nov 10 | 134 | 127 |
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 Poznań and Warsaw today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Poznań and Warsaw compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Poznań's air is cleaner than 32% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Warsaw's is cleaner than 36%. Within Poland, that is 45% and 66% of its 39 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Poznań
- Beats 32%
- Warsaw
- Beats 36%
More tree cover than…
- Poznań
- Beats 76%
- 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, Poznań or Warsaw?
Poznań has lost more: about 495 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 144 ha around Warsaw. 107 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: 2020, with 41 ha lost.
Worst year: 2010, with 20 ha lost.
| Poznań | Warsaw | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 495 ha | 144 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 7% | 3% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 107 ha (better) | 121 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Logging (74%) | 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.
Poznań
2018: satellite photo from August 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km east of 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, Poznań or Warsaw?
Poznań has more tree cover: 34.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 26.9% around Warsaw, or about 107,843 trees against 82,988.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Poznań | Warsaw | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 108K (better) | 83.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (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
Poznań vs Warsaw: your questions answered
Is Warsaw cleaner than Poznań?
On air quality, yes, right now: Warsaw reads AQI 72 against 78, a gap of 6 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, Poznań averaged AQI 102 against 108, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Poznań and Warsaw today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Poznań reads AQI 78 and Warsaw reads AQI 72.
Which has lost more forest, Poznań or Warsaw?
Poznań has lost more: about 495 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 144 ha around Warsaw. 107 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Poznań or Warsaw?
Poznań has more tree cover: 34.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 26.9% around Warsaw, or about 107,843 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 Poznań and Warsaw need?
Poznań needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Warsaw about 9,564 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Poznań 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 Poznań 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 (Aug 27, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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