City report · Ireland
Waterford Air quality today
Air quality in Waterford currently reads AQI 54 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 54
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.7
- tree cover
- 24.6%
- trees in this area
- 71.7K
- more trees needed
- 15.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Waterford, Ireland (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 22, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Waterford · AQI 54 (Moderate)
Waterford's tree count comes to 71,719 trees across 11.66 km² of land, 5 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 15,743 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Waterford today: AQI 54, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Wateford Merchants Quay, 700 m away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.7
PM10
16.8
NO₂
13.7
O₃
54.9
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Waterford's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 31 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 69 on Nov 7.
Where Waterford stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Waterford: Below target
24.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.66 km² of land.
Trees in this area
71,719
Target trees
87,462
More trees needed
15,743
CO₂ if planted / yr
346.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Waterford lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Waterford has lost about 134 hectares of forest (about 190 football pitches): 4% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (41%). About 64 hectares (47%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 134 haabout 190 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 64 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 41 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 33 ha | 8 ha | 41 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2004 | 3 ha | 4 ha | 7 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | 6 ha | 15 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 6 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 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 | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 13 ha | 13 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Waterford?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good41% · 54 ha
- Loggingcan grow back35% · 47 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good7% · 9 ha
Also: 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
- 754 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,180 ha
- Overall change
- +428 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Waterford grew from about 754 hectares to 1,180 hectares, a net gain of about 428 hectares (+57%). New forest grew on about 508 hectares, while 81 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 Waterford
What is the air quality (AQI) in Waterford right now?
The latest reading for Waterford shows an AQI of 54 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Wateford Merchants Quay, 700 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Waterford today?
At AQI 54 (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 Waterford been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Waterford's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 31 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 69 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Waterford lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Waterford has lost about 134 hectares of forest (about 190 football pitches): 4% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (41%). About 64 hectares (47%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Waterford grew from about 754 hectares to 1,180 hectares, a net gain of about 428 hectares (+57%). New forest grew on about 508 hectares, while 81 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Waterford?
Waterford has an estimated 71,719 trees across the 11.66 km² of land measured — 24.6% tree cover, 5 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Waterford need?
Waterford needs roughly 15,743 more trees to close a 5-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 346.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Waterford's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Waterford, 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 Waterford; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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