Air quality comparison · Poland, 302 km apart
Warsaw vs Wrocław Air quality index (AQI) today
Warsaw has cleaner air than Wrocław right now: AQI 77 (Moderate) against 119 (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, Warsaw averaged AQI 105 against 106, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Wrocław has lost more forest since 2001. Wrocław has more tree cover.
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
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.
Warsaw77Wrocław119
Head to head
Warsaw vs Wrocław at a glance
Warsaw is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Wrocław on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Warsaw | Wrocław | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 77 (better) | 119 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 23.1 (better) | 42.8 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 105 (better) | 106 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 144 ha (better) | 146 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 26.9% | 29.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 9.6K (better) | 16.1K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Warsaw and Wrocław right now?
Warsaw has cleaner air than Wrocław right now: AQI 77 (Moderate) against 119 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Warsaw's PM2.5 is about 1.5× 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.
WarsawWrocław
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, Warsaw averaged AQI 105 against 106, 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
- Warsaw3Wrocław3
- Average AQI
- Warsaw105Wrocław106
- Worst day, AQI
- Warsaw143Wrocław122
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Warsaw | Wrocław |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 81 | 67 |
| Nov 5 | 89 | 103 |
| Nov 6 | 71 | 117 |
| Nov 7 | 112 | 118 |
| Nov 8 | 143 | 122 |
| Nov 9 | 131 | 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 Warsaw and Wrocław today?
Warsaw (AQI 77, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Wrocław (AQI 119, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Warsaw
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Wrocław
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Warsaw
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Wrocław
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Warsaw
- Not needed for most people.
- Wrocław
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Warsaw
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Wrocław
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Warsaw and Wrocław compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Warsaw's air is cleaner than 33% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Wrocław's is cleaner than 16%. Within Poland, that is 47% and 3% of its 39 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Warsaw
- Beats 33%
- Wrocław
- Beats 16%
More tree cover than…
- Warsaw
- Beats 62%
- 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, Warsaw or Wrocław?
Wrocław has lost more: about 146 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 144 ha around Warsaw. 115 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: 2010, with 20 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with 22 ha lost.
| Warsaw | Wrocław | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 144 ha (better) | 146 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3% | 2.4% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 121 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 (84%) | 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.
Warsaw
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, Warsaw or Wrocław?
Wrocław has more tree cover: 29.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 26.9% around Warsaw, or about 92,122 trees against 82,988.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Warsaw | Wrocław | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 83.0K | 92.1K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 9.6K (better) | 16.1K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.8M kg | 2.0M kg (better) |
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
Warsaw vs Wrocław: your questions answered
Is Warsaw cleaner than Wrocław?
On air quality, yes, right now: Warsaw reads AQI 77 against 119, a gap of 42 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, Warsaw averaged AQI 105 against 106, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Warsaw and Wrocław today?
In Warsaw, at AQI 77: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Wrocław, at AQI 119: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Warsaw or Wrocław?
Wrocław has lost more: about 146 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 144 ha around Warsaw. 115 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Warsaw or Wrocław?
Wrocław has more tree cover: 29.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 26.9% around Warsaw, or about 92,122 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 Warsaw and Wrocław need?
Warsaw needs about 9,564 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Wrocław about 16,075 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Warsaw 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 Warsaw 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 18, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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