City report · Palestinian Territory
Gaza Air quality today
Air quality in Gaza currently reads AQI 54 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 54
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.6
- tree cover
- 0.6%
- trees in this area
- 1.9K
- more trees needed
- 92.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Gaza, Palestine, State of (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 16, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Gaza · AQI 54 (Moderate)
Gaza's tree count comes to 1,885 trees across 12.57 km², 29 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 92,363 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Gaza today: AQI 54, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Cedar, southern coastal plain, Israel (ישראל,ארז, מישור החוף הדרומי), 11.4 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.6
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection
- 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 Gaza's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 29 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 72 on Nov 10.
Where Gaza stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Gaza: Critically low
0.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
1,885
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
92,363
CO₂ if planted / yr
2,032 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Gaza lost?
There was very little forest around Gaza in 2000, about 50 hectares, and about 12 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 August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
The worst year was 2004, when about 4 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 | 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 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 Gaza?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good72% · 8 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good17% · 2 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown9.5% · 1 ha
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
- 96 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 148 ha
- Overall change
- +52 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gaza grew from about 96 hectares to 148 hectares, a net gain of about 52 hectares. New forest grew on about 64 hectares, while 12 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 Gaza
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Ashkelon21.1 km
Israel
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 55
- Ashdod36.7 km
Israel
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 56
- Beersheba41.5 km
Israel
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 46
- Reẖovot54.5 km
Israel
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 86
- Bet Shemesh56.0 km
Israel
- Tree cover
- 12%
- Air quality
- 53
Also compared:Gaza vs East JerusalemGaza vs Hebron
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Frequently asked
Questions about Gaza
What is the air quality (AQI) in Gaza right now?
The latest reading for Gaza shows an AQI of 54 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Cedar, southern coastal plain, Israel (ישראל,ארז, מישור החוף הדרומי), 11.4 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Gaza today?
At AQI 54 (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 Gaza been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Gaza's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 29 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 72 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Gaza lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Gaza in 2000, about 50 hectares, and about 12 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. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Gaza grew from about 96 hectares to 148 hectares, a net gain of about 52 hectares. New forest grew on about 64 hectares, while 12 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Gaza?
Gaza has an estimated 1,885 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 0.6% tree cover, 29 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Gaza need?
Gaza needs roughly 92,363 more trees to close a 29-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 2,032 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Gaza's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Gaza, 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 Gaza; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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