Sydney
2 km around Sydney NSW 2000
Air quality now
AQI 40
28.3%
tree cover
3.8K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Oceania · air quality report · 21 cities
Australia air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 21 cities Airleaf measures in Australia average AQI 33 (good). The worst air is in Newcastle, at AQI 60, and the cleanest in Hobart, at AQI 7.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 35 across 20 cities. None of the 21 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 81% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 33
Good
US EPA index, across 21 cities
- cities measured
- 21
- worst air: Newcastle
- 60
- cleanest air: Hobart
- 7
- average tree cover
- 26.4%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Australia · average AQI 33
Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in Australia
Good
Melbourne
2 km around CBD
Air quality now
AQI 22
20.2%
tree cover
29.5K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Canberra
2 km around Canberra ACT 2601
Air quality now
AQI 10
42.2%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Brisbane
2 km around Brisbane City QLD
Air quality now
AQI 42
20.0%
tree cover
26.8K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Perth
2 km around Perth WA 6000
Air quality now
AQI 29
18.1%
tree cover
30.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Adelaide
2 km around Adelaide SA 5000
Air quality now
AQI 41
32.4%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Gold Coast
2 km around Surfers Paradise QLD
Air quality now
AQI 35
17.3%
tree cover
17.6K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Newcastle
2 km around The Hill NSW 2300
Air quality now
AQI 60
17.3%
tree cover
18.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Australia today?
None of the 21 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 81% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
21 measured cities
- Good17 (81%)
- Moderate4 (19%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
In aggregate
Australia in numbers
Every figure below is read the same way over the same 2 km area per city, so they add up and compare like for like. Averaged across the 21 of 21 cities measured so far in Australia.
- Average air quality
- AQI 33Mean of the latest reading per city
- Average tree cover
- 26.4%15 of 21 below their target
- Trees counted
- 1.5MAcross every measured area
- More trees needed
- 341KTo bring each area to its target
Worst air quality right now
Cleanest air right now
Greenest cities in Australia
Least tree cover in Australia
Excludes barren and desert sites
Against everywhere else
How does Australia compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Australia average cleaner air than 84% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 56%.
Cleaner air than…
- Australia
- Beats 84%
More tree cover than…
- Australia
- Beats 56%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Australia lost?
Since 2001, Australia has lost about 9.57 million hectares of forest (about 96,000 km²): 23% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 402,000 hectares (4.2%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 9.57 million haabout 96,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 23%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 402,000 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 11,500 ha | 207,000 ha | 218,000 ha |
| 2002 | 15,600 ha | 295,000 ha | 311,000 ha |
| 2003 | 24,200 ha | 349,000 ha | 373,000 ha |
| 2004 | 20,500 ha | 104,000 ha | 124,000 ha |
| 2005 | 20,000 ha | 156,000 ha | 176,000 ha |
| 2006 | 21,000 ha | 164,000 ha | 185,000 ha |
| 2007 | 23,900 ha | 347,000 ha | 371,000 ha |
| 2008 | 19,700 ha | 185,000 ha | 205,000 ha |
| 2009 | 19,700 ha | 183,000 ha | 203,000 ha |
| 2010 | 14,800 ha | 276,000 ha | 290,000 ha |
| 2011 | 14,300 ha | 106,000 ha | 120,000 ha |
| 2012 | 16,400 ha | 122,000 ha | 139,000 ha |
| 2013 | 13,100 ha | 244,000 ha | 257,000 ha |
| 2014 | 19,600 ha | 259,000 ha | 279,000 ha |
| 2015 | 13,800 ha | 246,000 ha | 260,000 ha |
| 2016 | 23,800 ha | 405,000 ha | 428,000 ha |
| 2017 | 18,200 ha | 217,000 ha | 236,000 ha |
| 2018 | 13,100 ha | 236,000 ha | 249,000 ha |
| 2019 | 16,900 ha | 1.64 million ha | 1.66 million ha |
| 2020 | 12,300 ha | 2.34 million ha | 2.35 million ha |
| 2021 | 10,100 ha | 249,000 ha | 259,000 ha |
| 2022 | 9,560 ha | 109,000 ha | 118,000 ha |
| 2023 | 8,800 ha | 181,000 ha | 190,000 ha |
| 2024 | 7,300 ha | 172,000 ha | 179,000 ha |
| 2025 | 14,500 ha | 369,000 ha | 383,000 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 226,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 985,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2020, when about 2.35 million hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
What is causing deforestation in Australia?
- Wildfirescan grow back78% · 7.45 million ha
- Loggingcan grow back16% · 1.53 million ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.8% · 267,000 ha
Also: towns and roads, mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, shifting farming, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
Australia as a whole
17.4% of Australia was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. Closing that gap nationally would take roughly 97.1B trees across 97.1M hectares. Source: World Bank (FAO).
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Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Australia
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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.
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- NIOSH-approved N95 masks for smoke and smog
NIOSH-approved N95 masks and P100 respirators for smog and smoke, and how to get the fit right. Cloth and surgical masks do little against PM2.5.
Frequently asked
Air quality in Australia: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Australia today?
Right now the 21 cities Airleaf measures in Australia average AQI 33 (good). The worst air is in Newcastle, at AQI 60, and the cleanest in Hobart, at AQI 7. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 35 across 20 cities. None of the 21 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 81% have Good air.
Which city in Australia has the worst air right now?
Newcastle, at AQI 60 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in Australia has the cleanest air right now?
Hobart, at AQI 7 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Australia has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Australia safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 17 cities are Good, 4 cities are Moderate. At the national average of AQI 33: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has Australia lost since 2001?
About 9.57 million ha from 2001 to 2025, 23% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 402,000 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which city in Australia has the most trees?
Central Coast, with 74.8% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Australia?
Each city's reading is the US EPA air quality index, from ground monitoring stations where one has reported recently nearby, and from the CAMS atmospheric model elsewhere; each city's report says which. Tree cover is measured over the same 2 km radius in every city, so the cities compare like for like.
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