Abbottabad vs Rawalpindi
Tree cover and air quality for both, measured the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius from each city centre, and the live US EPA air quality index. Same radius and same index, so the two numbers compare directly.
Abbottabad has more tree cover — 55.9% against 26.5%.
Rawalpindi has cleaner air right now — AQI 88 against 93.
- Tree cover gap
- 29.4 points
- Abbottabad is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 5 AQI
- Rawalpindi is cleaner.
- Trees between them
- 92.4K
- Abbottabad has more standing.
Pakistan
Pakistan
Tree cover
Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.
55.9%
26.5%
Air quality index
US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.
93 · Moderate
88 · Moderate
Trees standing
Estimated from the measured canopy area.
176K
83.3K
Trees still needed
To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.
0
11.0K
CO₂ absorbed each year
By the trees already standing.
3.9M kg
1.8M kg
Air quality in detail
What each city is breathing
Concentrations in µg/m³, measured at the same moment as the index above. Lower is better in every row. Rawalpindi is read from nearby ground stations and Abbottabad is modelled — worth knowing, since the two are not quite like for like.
PM2.5
Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.
32 µg/m³
29.9 µg/m³
The last week, day by day
A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon. The week says whether it was the weather or the place.
| Day | Abbottabad | Rawalpindi |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept | 107 | 134 |
| 23 Sept | 104 | 137 |
| 24 Sept | 90 | 117 |
| 25 Sept | 97 | 120 |
| 26 Sept | 100 | 121 |
| 27 Sept | 95 | 109 |
| 28 Sept | 96 | 100 |
Reading these numbers
What is actually being measured
Tree cover
The share of ground under canopy inside a 2 km radius of each city centre, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It is a measurement of that circle, not of the whole municipality — which is exactly what makes the two comparable, since city boundaries are drawn to wildly different rules around the world. Abbottabad leads here at 55.9%.
Air quality index
The live US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations — ground stations where a city has them nearby, and a model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so this is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place: Abbottabad reads 93 (moderate) and Rawalpindi reads 88 (moderate) right now.
Frequently asked
Abbottabad and Rawalpindi, answered
Which has more trees, Abbottabad or Rawalpindi?
Abbottabad, with roughly 175,615 trees inside its 2 km radius against 83,252. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Abbottabad has the denser canopy at 55.9%.
Which has better air quality, Abbottabad or Rawalpindi?
Rawalpindi right now, at AQI 88 against 93 — a gap of 5 points. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day.
How many more trees does each city need?
Abbottabad needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target, and Rawalpindi about 10,996. The target is the same share of ground for both, so the figures are directly comparable.
Are these two measured the same way?
Yes — that is the point of the page. Identical radius, identical satellite source at 10 m detail, and the same US EPA index for air. Nothing here is adjusted for population, city limits or climate, so the numbers describe the same-sized circle of ground in each place.
Keep going
Other comparisons nearby
Build your own
Compare Abbottabad with somewhere else
This place
Abbottabad
Want a different pair? Browse comparisons or measure any address.