City report · Lebanon
Beirut Air quality today
Air quality in Beirut currently reads AQI 52 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 52
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.6
- tree cover
- 9.8%
- trees in this area
- 25.7K
- more trees needed
- 52.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Saray, Beirut, Lebanon (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 16, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Beirut · AQI 52 (Moderate)
Beirut's tree count comes to 25,677 trees across 10.48 km² of land, 20 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 52,926 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Beirut today: AQI 52, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · NDN, 1.4 km away · median of 8 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.6
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, AWAIR
- 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 Beirut's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 41 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 92 on Nov 3.
Where Beirut stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Beirut: Critically low
9.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.48 km² of land.
Trees in this area
25,677
Target trees
78,603
More trees needed
52,926
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,164 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Beirut lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Beirut has lost about 103 hectares of forest (about 140 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 103 haabout 140 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 14%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 103 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2002, when about 12 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2002 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2003 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2005 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2006 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2008 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2010 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2011 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Beirut?
- Towns and roadscleared for goodover 99% · 103 ha
Also: unknown causes.
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
- 1,530 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,480 ha
- Overall change
- −57 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Beirut shrank from about 1,530 hectares to 1,480 hectares, a net loss of about 57 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 60 hectares, but 117 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 Beirut
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Zahlé37.3 km
Lebanon
- Tree cover
- 8%
- Air quality
- 21
- Nabatîyé et Tahta57.2 km
Lebanon
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 36
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Frequently asked
Questions about Beirut
What is the air quality (AQI) in Beirut right now?
The latest reading for Beirut shows an AQI of 52 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 18:00 local time by 8 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is NDN, 1.4 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Beirut today?
At AQI 52 (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 Beirut been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Beirut's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 41 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 92 on Nov 3. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Beirut lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Beirut has lost about 103 hectares of forest (about 140 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Beirut shrank from about 1,530 hectares to 1,480 hectares, a net loss of about 57 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 60 hectares, but 117 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Beirut?
Beirut has an estimated 25,677 trees across the 10.48 km² of land measured — 9.8% tree cover, 20 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Beirut need?
Beirut needs roughly 52,926 more trees to close a 20-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,164 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Beirut's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Saray, 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 Saray; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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