City report · Sicily, Italy
Palermo Air quality today
Air quality in Palermo currently reads AQI 56 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 56
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.2
- tree cover
- 9.9%
- trees in this area
- 24.4K
- more trees needed
- 49.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Castellammare o Loggia, 90133 Palermo PA, Italy (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Palermo · AQI 56 (Moderate)
Palermo's tree count comes to 24,446 trees across 9.88 km² of land, 20 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 49,633 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Palermo today: AQI 56, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 00:00 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
11.2
PM10
20.9
NO₂
15.0
O₃
35.0
SO₂
1.1
CO
145.0
- 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 Palermo's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 30 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 57 on Nov 10.
Where Palermo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Palermo: Critically low
9.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.88 km² of land.
Trees in this area
24,446
Target trees
74,079
More trees needed
49,633
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,092 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Palermo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Palermo has lost about 465 hectares of forest (about 650 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 134 hectares (29%) 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 northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 465 haabout 650 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 134 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 77 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 | 6 ha | 6 ha | 13 ha |
| 2002 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2006 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2007 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2008 | 13 ha | 15 ha | 28 ha |
| 2009 | 36 ha | 21 ha | 57 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2011 | 10 ha | 3 ha | 13 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | 5 ha | 9 ha | 14 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | 28 ha | 30 ha |
| 2015 | 8 ha | 6 ha | 14 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | 23 ha | 26 ha |
| 2017 | 5 ha | 19 ha | 24 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 54 ha | 55 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | 75 ha | 77 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | 38 ha | 39 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | 9 ha | 10 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Palermo?
- Wildfirescan grow back66% · 307 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good28% · 130 ha
- Loggingcan grow back3.2% · 15 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 3,970 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,900 ha
- Overall change
- −66 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Palermo stayed about the same size, at about 3,900 hectares: new forest grew on about 60 hectares, and about 126 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 Palermo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Messina191.6 km
Italy
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 53
- Reggio Calabria201.0 km
Italy
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 55
- Siracusa205.2 km
Italy
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 27
- Valletta266.9 km
Malta
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 25
- Sukrah307.5 km
Tunisia
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 74
Also compared:Palermo vs RomePalermo vs MilanPalermo vs NaplesPalermo vs Turin
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Frequently asked
Questions about Palermo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Palermo right now?
The latest reading for Palermo shows an AQI of 56 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 00:00 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 Palermo today?
At AQI 56 (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 Palermo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Palermo's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 30 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 57 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 Palermo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Palermo has lost about 465 hectares of forest (about 650 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 134 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Palermo stayed about the same size, at about 3,900 hectares: new forest grew on about 60 hectares, and about 126 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Palermo?
Palermo has an estimated 24,446 trees across the 9.88 km² of land measured — 9.9% tree cover, 20 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Palermo need?
Palermo needs roughly 49,633 more trees to close a 20-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,092 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Palermo'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 Castellammare o Loggia; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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