Air quality comparison · Lebanon, 107 km apart
Sidon vs Tripoli Air quality index (AQI) today
Sidon has cleaner air than Tripoli right now: AQI 36 (Good) against 105 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Sidon averaged AQI 44 against 50, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Sidon has lost more forest since 2001. Sidon has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Sidon36Tripoli105
Head to head
Sidon vs Tripoli at a glance
Sidon is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Tripoli on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Sidon | Tripoli | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 36 (better) | 105 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6.4 (better) | 30.4 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 44 (better) | 50 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 63 ha | 49 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 21.6% (better) | 11.0% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 16.3K (better) | 75.4K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Sidon and Tripoli right now?
Sidon has cleaner air than Tripoli right now: AQI 36 (Good) against 105 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Tripoli's PM2.5 is about 2.0× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Sidon is read from a nearby ground station and Tripoli is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
SidonTripoli
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).
Sidon: Ground station · Hariri Foundation - NSA, 3.2 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, AWAIR.
Tripoli: Estimate · model corrected with 9 station cities within 205 km, e.g. Zahlé and Aley. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 9 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Sidon averaged AQI 44 against 50, 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
- Sidon4Tripoli1
- Average AQI
- Sidon44Tripoli50
- Worst day, AQI
- Sidon55Tripoli62
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Sidon | Tripoli |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 55 | 55 |
| Nov 6 | 38 | 59 |
| Nov 7 | 35 | 39 |
| Nov 8 | 36 | 41 |
| Nov 9 | 49 | 43 |
| Nov 10 | 52 | 62 |
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 Sidon and Tripoli today?
Sidon (AQI 36, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Tripoli (AQI 105, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Sidon
- A good day to be active outside.
- Tripoli
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Sidon
- Open them to air the house.
- Tripoli
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Sidon
- Not needed.
- Tripoli
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Sidon
- Not needed.
- Tripoli
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Sidon and Tripoli compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Sidon's air is cleaner than 74% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Tripoli's is cleaner than 20%. Within Lebanon, that is 67% and 0% of its 7 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Sidon
- Beats 74%
- Tripoli
- Beats 20%
More tree cover than…
- Sidon
- Beats 50%
- Tripoli
- Beats 24%
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, Sidon or Tripoli?
Sidon has lost more: about 63 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 49 ha around Tripoli. 61 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: 2023, with 10 ha lost.
Worst year: 2009, with 7 ha lost.
| Sidon | Tripoli | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 63 ha | 49 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 6.6% (better) | 7.7% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 61 ha | 34 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (49%) | 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.
Sidon
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Tripoli
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Sidon or Tripoli?
Sidon has more tree cover: 21.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 11.0% around Tripoli, or about 42,004 trees against 34,558.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Sidon | Tripoli | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 42.0K (better) | 34.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 16.3K (better) | 75.4K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 924K kg (better) | 760K 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
Sidon vs Tripoli: your questions answered
Is Sidon cleaner than Tripoli?
On air quality, yes, right now: Sidon reads AQI 36 against 105, a gap of 69 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Sidon averaged AQI 44 against 50, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Sidon and Tripoli today?
In Sidon, at AQI 36: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Tripoli, at AQI 105: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Sidon or Tripoli?
Sidon has lost more: about 63 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 49 ha around Tripoli. 61 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Sidon or Tripoli?
Sidon has more tree cover: 21.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 11.0% around Tripoli, or about 42,004 trees against 34,558. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Sidon and Tripoli need?
Sidon needs about 16,335 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Tripoli about 75,398 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Sidon and Tripoli 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. Sidon is read from a nearby ground station and Tripoli is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Sidon vs Tripoli 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 16, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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