Air quality comparison · Benin, 250 km apart
Abomey vs Parakou Air quality index (AQI) today
Parakou has cleaner air than Abomey right now: AQI 67 (Moderate) against 88 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Abomey averaged AQI 58 against 63, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Abomey has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Abomey88Parakou67
Head to head
Abomey vs Parakou at a glance
Abomey is ahead on 3 of 5 measures, and Parakou on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Abomey | Parakou | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 88 | 67 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 27.4 | 17.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 58 (better) | 63 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 26.5% (better) | 19.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 11.0K (better) | 33.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Abomey and Parakou right now?
Parakou has cleaner air than Abomey right now: AQI 67 (Moderate) against 88 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Abomey's PM2.5 is about 1.8× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Parakou's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
AbomeyParakou
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Abomey: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 165 km, e.g. Ota and Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index.
Parakou: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Abomey averaged AQI 58 against 63, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Abomey6Parakou0
- Average AQI
- Abomey58Parakou63
- Worst day, AQI
- Abomey62Parakou68
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Abomey | Parakou |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 61 | 64 |
| Nov 5 | 52 | 63 |
| Nov 6 | 58 | 61 |
| Nov 7 | 60 | 68 |
| Nov 8 | 60 | 67 |
| Nov 9 | 62 | 62 |
| Nov 10 | 55 | 59 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Abomey and Parakou today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
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.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Abomey and Parakou compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Abomey's air is cleaner than 26% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Parakou's is cleaner than 40%. Within Benin, that is 20% and 100% of its 6 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Abomey
- Beats 26%
- Parakou
- Beats 40%
More tree cover than…
- Abomey
- Beats 61%
- Parakou
- Beats 45%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Abomey
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Parakou
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Abomey or Parakou?
Abomey has more tree cover: 26.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.3% around Parakou, or about 83,252 trees against 60,633.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Abomey | Parakou | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 83.3K (better) | 60.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 11.0K (better) | 33.6K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.8M kg (better) | 1.3M kg |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Abomey vs Parakou: your questions answered
Is Parakou cleaner than Abomey?
On air quality, yes, right now: Parakou reads AQI 67 against 88, a gap of 21 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Abomey averaged AQI 58 against 63, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Abomey and Parakou today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Abomey reads AQI 88 and Parakou reads AQI 67.
Which has more trees, Abomey or Parakou?
Abomey has more tree cover: 26.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.3% around Parakou, or about 83,252 trees against 60,633. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Abomey and Parakou need?
Abomey needs about 10,996 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Parakou about 33,615 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Abomey and Parakou measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Abomey vs Parakou comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Oct 19, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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