Riga
2 km around Vecrīga
Air quality now
AQI 71
27.8%
tree cover
5.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Europe · air quality report · 5 cities
Latvia air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Latvia average AQI 83 (moderate). The worst air is in Jelgava, at AQI 151, and the cleanest in Ventspils, at AQI 53.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 88 across 4 cities. 20% of the 5 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups.
Average right now
AQI 83
Moderate
US EPA index, across 5 cities
- cities measured
- 5
- worst air: Jelgava
- 151
- cleanest air: Ventspils
- 53
- average tree cover
- 25.8%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Latvia · average AQI 83
Air quality right now in all 5 cities in Latvia
Moderate
Daugavpils
2 km around Daugavpils
Air quality now
AQI 75
25.1%
tree cover
15.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Liepāja
2 km around Liepāja
Air quality now
AQI 66
23.3%
tree cover
15.5K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Jelgava
2 km around Jelgava
Air quality now
AQI 151
22.2%
tree cover
55.2K more trees would reach 40% tree cover
Ventspils
2 km around Ventspils
Air quality now
AQI 53
30.7%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Latvia today?
20% of the 5 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
5 measured cities
- Moderate4 (80%)
- Unhealthy1 (20%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How does Latvia compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Latvia average cleaner air than 10% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 54%.
Cleaner air than…
- Latvia
- Beats 10%
More tree cover than…
- Latvia
- Beats 54%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Latvia lost?
Since 2001, Latvia has lost about 1.01 million hectares of forest (about 10,000 km²): 29% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 6,980 hectares (under 1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.01 million haabout 10,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 29%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 6,980 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 | 203 ha | 24,400 ha | 24,600 ha |
| 2002 | 140 ha | 28,600 ha | 28,800 ha |
| 2003 | 85 ha | 20,900 ha | 21,000 ha |
| 2004 | 227 ha | 30,100 ha | 30,300 ha |
| 2005 | 316 ha | 39,800 ha | 40,100 ha |
| 2006 | 445 ha | 38,000 ha | 38,400 ha |
| 2007 | 323 ha | 35,400 ha | 35,700 ha |
| 2008 | 172 ha | 28,700 ha | 28,900 ha |
| 2009 | 307 ha | 34,200 ha | 34,500 ha |
| 2010 | 456 ha | 47,500 ha | 47,900 ha |
| 2011 | 364 ha | 43,900 ha | 44,300 ha |
| 2012 | 246 ha | 33,700 ha | 33,900 ha |
| 2013 | 114 ha | 27,300 ha | 27,500 ha |
| 2014 | 310 ha | 31,500 ha | 31,800 ha |
| 2015 | 284 ha | 30,200 ha | 30,500 ha |
| 2016 | 371 ha | 44,100 ha | 44,400 ha |
| 2017 | 344 ha | 46,200 ha | 46,500 ha |
| 2018 | 371 ha | 46,000 ha | 46,400 ha |
| 2019 | 345 ha | 56,300 ha | 56,600 ha |
| 2020 | 322 ha | 49,500 ha | 49,800 ha |
| 2021 | 215 ha | 47,600 ha | 47,900 ha |
| 2022 | 262 ha | 56,100 ha | 56,400 ha |
| 2023 | 267 ha | 53,600 ha | 53,900 ha |
| 2024 | 201 ha | 55,700 ha | 55,900 ha |
| 2025 | 290 ha | 54,600 ha | 54,900 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 53,800 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 48,800 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 56,600 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Latvia?
- Loggingcan grow back99% · 1 million ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, towns and roads, wildfires, mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
Latvia as a whole
55.6% of Latvia was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. That already clears the benchmark — the city reports above show where cover is still thin locally. Source: World Bank (FAO).
Build your own
Compare Latvia with another country
This place
Latvia
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Latvia
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 air purifiers under $200
Good HEPA air purifiers under $200 at the makers' own prices, compared on verified clean air, room size and what the filters cost each year.
- 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 Latvia: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Latvia today?
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Latvia average AQI 83 (moderate). The worst air is in Jelgava, at AQI 151, and the cleanest in Ventspils, at AQI 53. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 88 across 4 cities. 20% of the 5 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups.
Which city in Latvia has the worst air right now?
Jelgava, at AQI 151 (Unhealthy) on the US EPA index. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Which city in Latvia has the cleanest air right now?
Ventspils, at AQI 53 (Moderate). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Latvia has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Latvia safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 4 cities are Moderate, 1 city is Unhealthy. At the national average of AQI 83: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
How much forest has Latvia lost since 2001?
About 1.01 million ha from 2001 to 2025, 29% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 6,980 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Latvia?
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.
More of Europe
Aland IslandsAlbaniaAndorraAustriaBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFaroe IslandsFinlandFranceGermanyGibraltarGreeceGuernseyHungaryIcelandIrelandIsle of ManItalyJerseyKosovoLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSvalbard and Jan MayenSwedenSwitzerlandThe NetherlandsUkraineUnited KingdomVatican
Your own street