City report · Erbil, Iraq
Erbil Air quality today
Air quality in Erbil currently reads AQI 62 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 62
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 14.1
- tree cover
- 5.0%
- trees in this area
- 15.7K
- more trees needed
- 78.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Qalat, Erbil, Erbil Governorate, Iraq (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Erbil · AQI 62 (Moderate)
Erbil's tree count comes to 15,708 trees across 12.57 km², 25 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 78,540 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Erbil today: AQI 62, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 185 km, e.g. Sulaymaniyah and Silopi
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
14.1
PM10
5.5
NO₂
17.5
O₃
76.0
SO₂
14.1
CO
453.0
- 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 Erbil's daily AQI at 59 on average, from 43 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 81 on Nov 4.
Where Erbil stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Erbil: Critically low
5.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
15,708
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
78,540
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,728 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Erbil lost?
There was almost no forest around Erbil in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose 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.
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 Erbil
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Baḥarkah14.0 km
Iraq
- Tree cover
- 0%
- Air quality
- 78
- Xebat31.9 km
Iraq
- Tree cover
- 1%
- Air quality
- 81
- 'Ākra61.4 km
Iraq
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 56
- Rānyah78.6 km
Iraq
- Tree cover
- 2%
- Air quality
- 64
- Kirkuk87.5 km
Iraq
- Tree cover
- 3%
- Air quality
- 82
Also compared:Erbil vs BaghdadErbil vs BasrahErbil vs Karbala
Build your own
Compare Erbil with anywhere
This place
Erbil
Use this data
Put Erbil's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Erbil
What is the air quality (AQI) in Erbil right now?
The latest reading for Erbil shows an AQI of 62 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 185 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 Erbil today?
At AQI 62 (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 Erbil been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Erbil's daily AQI at 59 on average, from 43 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 81 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Erbil lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Erbil in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose 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 Erbil?
Erbil has an estimated 15,708 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 5.0% tree cover, 25 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Erbil need?
Erbil needs roughly 78,540 more trees to close a 25-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,728 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Erbil'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 Qalat; 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