City report · New South Wales, Australia
Sydney Air quality today
Air quality in Sydney currently reads AQI 30 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 30
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.4
- tree cover
- 28.3%
- trees in this area
- 63.7K
- more trees needed
- 3.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Sydney NSW 2000, Australia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Mar 10, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Sydney · AQI 30 (Good)
Sydney's tree count comes to 63,657 trees across 9 km² of land, 2 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 3,824 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Sydney today: AQI 30, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 02:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Randwick, 5.8 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.4
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sydney's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 26 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 98 on Nov 12.
Where Sydney stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Sydney: Below target
28.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9 km² of land.
Trees in this area
63,657
Target trees
67,481
More trees needed
3,824
CO₂ if planted / yr
84.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sydney lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sydney has lost about 92 hectares of forest (about 130 football pitches): 4.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 27 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2018: satellite photo from December 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 92 haabout 130 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 27 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2020, when about 16 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 6 ha | 7 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2016 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | 6 ha | 8 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | 4 ha | 7 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 15 ha | 16 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 9 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | 4 ha | 6 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Sydney?
- Wildfirescan grow back59% · 54 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good29% · 27 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown12% · 11 ha
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
- 6,040 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,330 ha
- Overall change
- +289 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sydney grew from about 6,040 hectares to 6,330 hectares, a net gain of about 289 hectares (+4.8%). New forest grew on about 330 hectares, while 41 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 Sydney
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Wollongong68.2 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 16
- Newcastle117.1 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 112
- Gold Coast686.0 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 35
- Toowoomba705.0 km
Australia
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 45
Also compared:Sydney vs MelbourneSydney vs BrisbaneSydney vs Perth
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Frequently asked
Questions about Sydney
What is the air quality (AQI) in Sydney right now?
The latest reading for Sydney shows an AQI of 30 (Good), measured Nov 12, 02:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Randwick, 5.8 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Sydney today?
At AQI 30 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Sydney been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sydney's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 26 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 98 on Nov 12. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Sydney lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sydney has lost about 92 hectares of forest (about 130 football pitches): 4.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 27 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sydney grew from about 6,040 hectares to 6,330 hectares, a net gain of about 289 hectares (+4.8%). New forest grew on about 330 hectares, while 41 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Sydney?
Sydney has an estimated 63,657 trees across the 9 km² of land measured — 28.3% tree cover, 2 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Sydney need?
Sydney needs roughly 3,824 more trees to close a 2-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 84.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Sydney's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Sydney NSW 2000, 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 Sydney NSW 2000; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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