City report · Syria
Damascus Air quality today
Air quality in Damascus currently reads AQI 59 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 59
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 12.8
- tree cover
- 5.9%
- trees in this area
- 18.5K
- more trees needed
- 75.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Al Hijaz, Damascus, Syria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 16, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Damascus · AQI 59 (Moderate)
Damascus's tree count comes to 18,535 trees across 12.57 km², 24 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 75,712 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Damascus today: AQI 59, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 8 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 8 station cities within 205 km, e.g. Zahlé and Aley
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
12.8
PM10
9.1
NO₂
7.7
O₃
82.0
SO₂
45.3
CO
138.0
- 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 Damascus's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 20 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 54 on Nov 6.
Where Damascus stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Damascus: Critically low
5.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
18,535
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
75,712
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,666 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Damascus lost?
There was very little forest around Damascus in 2000, about 11 hectares, and about 2 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Damascus?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good31% · under 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown62% · 1 ha
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Damascus
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Dūmā12.4 km
Syria
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 69
- Zahlé51.9 km
Lebanon
- Tree cover
- 8%
- Air quality
- 21
- Aley71.9 km
Lebanon
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 60
- Nabatîyé et Tahta76.3 km
Lebanon
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 36
- Beirut84.6 km
Lebanon
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 52
- Sidon85.4 km
Lebanon
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 36
Also compared:Damascus vs AleppoDamascus vs HomsDamascus vs Latakia
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Frequently asked
Questions about Damascus
What is the air quality (AQI) in Damascus right now?
The latest reading for Damascus shows an AQI of 59 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 8 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Damascus today?
At AQI 59 (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 Damascus been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Damascus's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 20 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 54 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 Damascus lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Damascus in 2000, about 11 hectares, and about 2 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
What is the tree count in Damascus?
Damascus has an estimated 18,535 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 5.9% tree cover, 24 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Damascus need?
Damascus needs roughly 75,712 more trees to close a 24-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,666 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Damascus's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Al Hijaz; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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