City report · Sicily, Italy
Messina Air quality today
Air quality in Messina currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 53
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.9
- tree cover
- 21.7%
- trees in this area
- 52.6K
- more trees needed
- 20.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Messina, Metropolitan City of Messina, Italy (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Messina · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Messina's tree count comes to 52,629 trees across 9.7 km² of land, 8 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 20,130 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Messina today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.9
PM10
22.0
NO₂
22.1
O₃
39.0
SO₂
4.7
CO
137.0
- 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 Messina's daily AQI at 39 on average, from 28 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 10.
Where Messina stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Messina: Below target
21.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.7 km² of land.
Trees in this area
52,629
Target trees
72,759
More trees needed
20,130
CO₂ if planted / yr
442.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Messina lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Messina has lost about 582 hectares of forest (about 820 football pitches): 9.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 23 hectares (3.9%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 582 haabout 820 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 9.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 23 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 41 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 56 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 230 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 19 ha | 20 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 12 ha | 14 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 7 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 16 ha | 16 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | 12 ha | 13 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | 14 ha | 15 ha |
| 2017 | 8 ha | 222 ha | 230 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 16 ha | 16 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 11 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 10 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 24 ha | 24 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 157 ha | 157 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 9 ha | 9 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Messina?
- Wildfirescan grow back94% · 549 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good3.2% · 19 ha
- Loggingcan grow back1% · 6 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 8,870 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,910 ha
- Overall change
- +32 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Messina stayed about the same size, at about 8,910 hectares: new forest grew on about 77 hectares, and about 45 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 Messina
What is the air quality (AQI) in Messina right now?
The latest reading for Messina shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, 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 Messina today?
At AQI 53 (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 Messina been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Messina's daily AQI at 39 on average, from 28 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 55 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 Messina lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Messina has lost about 582 hectares of forest (about 820 football pitches): 9.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 23 hectares (3.9%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 41 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 56 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Messina stayed about the same size, at about 8,910 hectares: new forest grew on about 77 hectares, and about 45 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Messina?
Messina has an estimated 52,629 trees across the 9.7 km² of land measured — 21.7% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Messina need?
Messina needs roughly 20,130 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 442.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Messina'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 Messina; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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