Iraq · Basra · 7 cities
Air quality in Basra today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Al Madīnah has the cleanest air of the 7 cities we track in Basra (AQI 31, Good), and Umm Qaşr the worst (AQI 66, Moderate). Al Madīnah has the most tree cover, at 14.5% — #5 of 47 cities measured in Iraq.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
Average right now
AQI 47
Good
- cities tracked
- 7
- average tree cover
- 3.2%
- Iraq: 5.1%
- worst air now: Umm Qaşr
- 66
- cleanest air now: Al Madīnah
- 31
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Basra · average AQI 47
Air quality today across Basra, city by city
| Basrah | 53Moderate | 0.1% | 93.9K | #47 of 47 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abū al-Kahṣīb | 34Good | 3.9% | 81.5K | #22 of 47 |
| Al Madīnah | 31Good | 14.5% | 45.9K | #5 of 47 |
| Al Qurnah | 36Good | 2.8% | 81.4K | #24 of 47 |
| Az Zubayr | 65Moderate | 0.3% | 93.3K | #43 of 47 |
| Umm Qaşr | 66Moderate | 0.9% | 91.4K | #38 of 47 |
| Al Fāw | 43Good | 0.2% | 81.2K | #45 of 47 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in Iraq.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Basra lost?
Since 2001, Basra has lost about 1 hectare of forest: under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was storms, floods and other natural causes (42%), after which forest can grow back. Almost none of it was deforestation, meaning forest cleared for good.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1 ha
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- under 1 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 in Basra?
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back42% · under 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown58% · under 1 ha
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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