City report · Greece
Athens Air quality today
Air quality in Athens currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 53
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.0
- tree cover
- 16.2%
- trees in this area
- 50.9K
- more trees needed
- 43.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Athens, Greece (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Athens · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Athens's tree count comes to 50,894 trees across 12.57 km², 14 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 43,354 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Athens today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · ARISTOTELOUS, 500 m away · median of 7 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.0
PM10
27.0
NO₂
45.0
O₃
21.0
SO₂
4.0
CO
1100.0
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- Outdoor exercise
- 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
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Athens's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 38 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 6.
Where Athens stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Athens: Critically low
16.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
50,894
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
43,354
CO₂ if planted / yr
953.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Athens lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Athens has lost about 116 hectares of forest (about 160 football pitches): 9.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 5 hectares (4.1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 116 haabout 160 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 9.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 5 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 44 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 13 ha | 16 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | 43 ha | 44 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 40 ha | 40 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Athens?
- Wildfirescan grow back92% · 107 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good4% · 5 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown3.7% · 4 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 3,150 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,090 ha
- Overall change
- −62 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Athens stayed about the same size, at about 3,090 hectares: new forest grew on about 129 hectares, and about 192 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Athens
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
Build your own
Compare Athens with anywhere
This place
Athens
Use this data
Put Athens's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Athens
What is the air quality (AQI) in Athens right now?
The latest reading for Athens shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 7 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is ARISTOTELOUS, 500 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Athens today?
At AQI 53 (Moderate): 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. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Athens been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Athens's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 38 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Athens lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Athens has lost about 116 hectares of forest (about 160 football pitches): 9.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 5 hectares (4.1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Athens stayed about the same size, at about 3,090 hectares: new forest grew on about 129 hectares, and about 192 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Athens?
Athens has an estimated 50,894 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 16.2% tree cover, 14 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Athens need?
Athens needs roughly 43,354 more trees to close a 14-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 953.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Athens's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Athens, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Athens; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address