Live Earth · 5,420 places, measured the same way
World air quality map Live AQI on a 3D Earth, city by city
Right now 37% of the 5,420 places on the map have Good air, and 20% are over AQI 100, where the air starts to be unhealthy for children, older people and anyone with heart or lung disease.
The worst air measured by ground stations is in Kasur, Pakistan, at AQI 690, and the cleanest in Las Cruces, United States, at AQI 1.
- Good37%
- Moderate43%
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups10%
- Unhealthy8%
- Very unhealthy1%
- Hazardous1%
- places on the map
- 5,420
- countries
- 241
- with Good air right now
- 37%
- over AQI 100 right now
- 20%
The AQI (air quality index) is a score for how polluted the air is. Lower is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf on the US EPA scale.
World · 37% of places have Good air right now
Loading 5,420 cities…
Drag to turn the Earth, pinch or scroll to zoom, and tap a city for its reading. Search for a city to fly straight to it, or switch to the deforestation or tree cover view. Every city also has a full report: browse them by country.
By continent
Which continent has the worst air right now?
Asia: the 2,580 places on the map there average AQI 99 (moderate) right now, and 36% are over AQI 100. South America has the cleanest air on average, at AQI 35.
| Continent | Average AQI now | Good air | Over AQI 100 | Places |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | 99Moderate | 22% | 36% | 2,580 |
| Africa | 71Moderate | 32% | 11% | 823 |
| Europe | 53Moderate | 46% | 6% | 790 |
| North America | 45Good | 59% | 2% | 622 |
| Oceania | 36Good | 71% | 0% | 63 |
| South America | 35Good | 75% | 1% | 542 |
An average of every place on the map in each continent, from ground stations where a city has them and from a forecast model elsewhere.
Right now
Where is the air worst and cleanest today?
The worst air measured by ground stations is in Kasur, Pakistan, at AQI 690, and the cleanest in Las Cruces, United States, at AQI 1.
These lists use ground stations only, which measure the air rather than estimate it.
Worst air quality right now
The colors
What do the AQI levels mean?
The AQI turns the pollution in the air into one number. Lower is better. Each level has its own color, the same on the map and on every city's report. Here is what each level means for your health, and how many places are in it right now.
| AQI | Band | What it means | Places now |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. | 2,022 (37%) |
| 51–100 | Moderate | Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. | 2,307 (43%) |
| 101–150 | Unhealthy for sensitive groups | Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. | 532 (10%) |
| 151–200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. | 413 (8%) |
| 201–300 | Very unhealthy | Health alert — everyone should avoid long outdoor exertion. | 71 (1%) |
| 301+ | Hazardous | Emergency conditions — avoid outdoor activity. | 75 (1%) |
The map
How to read the Earth map
Each glowing point is a city. Its color shows the reading, and the worse the reading, the higher the point rises, so the problems stand out. The Earth is lit from the sun's real position, so the line between day and night is the one outside your window.
- Air quality view
- Colors follow the AQI levels above, from green for Good to dark red for Hazardous. The glow around each city spreads wide, because air moves and one city's air says something about the region around it.
- Deforestation view
- The planet itself becomes the map: dark purple to yellow is the forest that stood in 2000, and red to white is forest lost since 2001, the same satellite record as the deforestation statistics. Cities are pins that rise with the share of nearby forest that has gone.
- Tree cover view
- Deep green is dense tree cover, amber is sparse and rust is almost bare. Here a city rises the fewer trees it has.
- What one point covers
- A circle 2 km around the city center, about 12.6 km², the same for every city, so a small city and a big one compare fairly.
Where the numbers come from
Air quality. Where a city has ground monitoring stations nearby, its reading comes from them, through OpenAQ and the World Air Quality Index project. Everywhere else it comes from CAMS, the global air pollution forecast of the EU's Copernicus program. The AQI is worked out the US EPA's way from the pollutants in the air: fine dust (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. The worst one sets the score. Forecast readings leave out PM10 and ozone, which the model tends to overstate.
Trees and forest. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 satellite photos at 10 m detail, checked against maps of land cover and tree height. Forest lost since 2001 comes from the University of Maryland's satellite maps.
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
- The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
Air purifiers that keep up with wildfire smoke and winter smog, ranked by verified smoke CADR, with the room each one clears on a smoky day.
- The best PM2.5 monitors for smoke and smog at home
Home monitors with laser PM2.5 sensors that show whether smoke and smog are getting in, and whether your purifier is keeping up.
- The best air purifiers for bedrooms: quiet picks sized for your room
Quiet HEPA air purifiers for bedrooms, compared on what matters at night: noise on the lowest setting (from 20 dB), verified room size and filter cost.
Frequently asked
The world air quality map: your questions answered
Is this air quality map live?
Yes. Readings are refreshed through the day, so the map changes as the air does, and each city's report shows when its latest reading was taken. The Earth is even lit from the sun's real position, so you can see where it is day and night right now.
Which city has the worst air in the world right now?
Of the cities Airleaf tracks, Kasur, Pakistan: AQI 690 (Hazardous), measured by ground stations. Emergency conditions — avoid outdoor activity.
Which city has the cleanest air right now?
Of the cities Airleaf tracks, Las Cruces, United States: AQI 1 (Good), measured by ground stations. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which continent has the worst air right now?
Asia: the 2,580 places on the map there average AQI 99 (moderate) right now, and 36% are over AQI 100. South America has the cleanest air on average, at AQI 35.
What do the colors on the map mean?
In the air quality view the colors follow the six US AQI levels: green is Good (0 to 50), yellow Moderate (51 to 100), orange Unhealthy for sensitive groups (101 to 150), red Unhealthy (151 to 200), purple Very unhealthy (201 to 300) and dark red Hazardous (above 300). Points also rise higher as the air gets worse, so the problems stand out. In the deforestation view, red to white shows forest lost since 2001; in the tree cover view, deep green is dense trees and rust is almost none.
Why is my city not on the map?
The map shows 5,420 cities in 241 countries: nearly every capital, each country's largest cities, and 300 across the United States. For anywhere else, the AQI map checks the air at any address you pick.
Why does this map differ from other air quality maps?
Mostly because of where the readings come from. Where a city has ground monitoring stations nearby, its reading comes from them. Elsewhere it comes from a global air pollution forecast, which covers the whole planet but is less exact for a single street. Other maps mix in different stations and home sensors, so the numbers for the same hour can differ.
Can I see deforestation on the map?
Yes. Switch to the deforestation view to see the forest lost since 2001 across the whole planet, from satellite maps by the University of Maryland: red for the early years, white for the latest. Each city is a pin that rises with the share of the forest within 10 km of it that has gone.
How is tree cover measured from space?
From photos taken every few days by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 satellites, which see each 10 by 10 meter patch of ground. Healthy leaves reflect light in a way that soil and buildings don't, and maps of land cover and tree height tell trees apart from lawns and crops. Every city is measured over the same circle, 2 km around its center, so small and big cities compare fairly.
Can I reuse this data?
Yes, under the CC BY 4.0 license. Quote it, chart it or republish it, as long as you credit Airleaf and link back.
Checking a street rather than a city? The AQI map reads the air at any address you pick. Reusing the readings? CC BY 4.0: credit Airleaf and link back.
Your own street