Iraq · Erbil · 4 cities
Air quality in Erbil today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Erbil has the cleanest air of the 4 cities we track in Erbil (AQI 58, Moderate), and Xebat the worst (AQI 76, Moderate). Erbil has the most tree cover, at 5.0% — #16 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.
AQI 67
Average right now
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 4
- average tree cover
- 1.8%
- Iraq: 5.1%
- worst air now: Xebat
- 76
- cleanest air now: Erbil
- 58
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Erbil · average AQI 67
Air quality today across Erbil, city by city
| Erbil | 58Moderate | 5.0% | 78.5K | #16 of 47 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xebat | 76Moderate | 1.4% | 86.7K | #32 of 47 |
| Khasnahzān | 61Moderate | 0.4% | 93.0K | #42 of 47 |
| Baḥarkah | 73Moderate | 0.2% | 93.6K | #46 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 Erbil lost?
Since 2001, Erbil has lost about 27 hectares of forest (about 37 football pitches): 1.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (59%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 27 haabout 37 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 16 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 | 2 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 | 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 | 3 ha |
| 2010 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
The worst year was 2002, when about 5 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Erbil?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good56% · 15 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back4.5% · 1 ha
- Loggingcan grow back3.4% · under 1 ha
Also: towns and roads, unknown causes.
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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