City report · Ireland
Limerick Air quality today
Air quality in Limerick currently reads AQI 57 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 57
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 12.1
- tree cover
- 24.1%
- trees in this area
- 71.7K
- more trees needed
- 17.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Prior's-Land, Limerick, Co. Limerick, Ireland (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Jul 13, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Limerick · AQI 57 (Moderate)
Limerick's tree count comes to 71,700 trees across 11.9 km² of land, 6 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 17,553 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Limerick today: AQI 57, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 15:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Limerick Henry Street, 700 m away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
12.1
PM10
17.0
NO₂
13.4
O₃
36.9
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Limerick's daily AQI at 56 on average, from 38 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 75 on Nov 7.
Where Limerick stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Limerick: Below target
24.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.9 km² of land.
Trees in this area
71,700
Target trees
89,253
More trees needed
17,553
CO₂ if planted / yr
386.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Limerick lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Limerick has lost about 305 hectares of forest (about 430 football pitches): 10% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 19 hectares (6.1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from June 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 305 haabout 430 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 10%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 19 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2019, when about 39 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 | 2 ha | 2 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 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 13 ha | 13 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 9 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 7 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 9 ha | 9 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 14 ha | 14 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 7 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 28 ha | 28 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 16 ha | 16 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 26 ha | 27 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 39 ha | 39 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 14 ha | 14 ha |
| 2021 | 12 ha | 6 ha | 17 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 37 ha | 37 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | 27 ha | 30 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | 16 ha | 17 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Limerick?
- Loggingcan grow back91% · 279 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good4.1% · 13 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good1.9% · 6 ha
Also: unknown causes.
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
- 1,730 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,300 ha
- Overall change
- +564 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Limerick grew from about 1,730 hectares to 2,300 hectares, a net gain of about 564 hectares (+33%). New forest grew on about 781 hectares, while 217 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Limerick
What is the air quality (AQI) in Limerick right now?
The latest reading for Limerick shows an AQI of 57 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 15:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Limerick Henry Street, 700 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Limerick today?
At AQI 57 (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 Limerick been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Limerick's daily AQI at 56 on average, from 38 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 75 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Limerick lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Limerick has lost about 305 hectares of forest (about 430 football pitches): 10% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 19 hectares (6.1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Limerick grew from about 1,730 hectares to 2,300 hectares, a net gain of about 564 hectares (+33%). New forest grew on about 781 hectares, while 217 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Limerick?
Limerick has an estimated 71,700 trees across the 11.9 km² of land measured — 24.1% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Limerick need?
Limerick needs roughly 17,553 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 386.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Limerick's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Prior's-Land, 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 Prior's-Land; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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