Air quality comparison · Ethiopia, 504 km apart
Addis Ababa vs Mek'ele Air quality index (AQI) today
Addis Ababa has cleaner air than Mek'ele right now: AQI 54 (Moderate) against 60 (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, Mek'ele averaged AQI 52 against 61, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Addis Ababa has lost more forest since 2001. Mek'ele has more tree cover.
Ethiopia
AQI 54
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 6.8 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 10:00 local
Ethiopia
AQI 60
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 13 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 01:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Addis Ababa54Mek'ele60
Head to head
Addis Ababa vs Mek'ele at a glance
Mek'ele is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Addis Ababa on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Addis Ababa | Mek'ele | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 54 (better) | 60 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6.8 (better) | 13 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 61 | 52 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 757 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 9.8% | 17.5% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 63.5K | 39.3K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Addis Ababa and Mek'ele right now?
Addis Ababa has cleaner air than Mek'ele right now: AQI 54 (Moderate) against 60 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
Addis AbabaMek'ele
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).
Addis Ababa: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Mek'ele: 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, Mek'ele averaged AQI 52 against 61, 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
- Addis Ababa1Mek'ele6
- Average AQI
- Addis Ababa61Mek'ele52
- Worst day, AQI
- Addis Ababa81Mek'ele61
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Addis Ababa | Mek'ele |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 70 | 58 |
| Nov 6 | 64 | 50 |
| Nov 7 | 58 | 44 |
| Nov 8 | 59 | 52 |
| Nov 9 | 46 | 49 |
| Nov 10 | 50 | 47 |
| Nov 11 | 81 | 61 |
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 Addis Ababa and Mek'ele 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 Addis Ababa and Mek'ele compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Addis Ababa's air is cleaner than 55% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Mek'ele's is cleaner than 46%. Within Ethiopia, that is 52% and 38% of its 30 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Addis Ababa
- Beats 55%
- Mek'ele
- Beats 46%
More tree cover than…
- Addis Ababa
- Beats 20%
- Mek'ele
- Beats 40%
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.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Addis Ababa or Mek'ele?
Addis Ababa has lost more: about 757 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Mek'ele. 60 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Measured within 10 km of each center, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: a wider circle than the one for tree cover, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Worst year: 2021, with 100 ha lost.
Worst year: 2008, with under 1 ha lost.
| Addis Ababa | Mek'ele | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 757 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 60 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Speeding up | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Logging (92%) | Not classified |
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.
Addis Ababa
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Mek'ele
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Addis Ababa or Mek'ele?
Mek'ele has more tree cover: 17.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.8% around Addis Ababa, or about 54,978 trees against 30,788.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Addis Ababa | Mek'ele | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 30.8K | 55.0K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 63.5K | 39.3K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 677K kg | 1.2M kg (better) |
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
Addis Ababa vs Mek'ele: your questions answered
Is Addis Ababa cleaner than Mek'ele?
On air quality, yes, right now: Addis Ababa reads AQI 54 against 60, a gap of 6 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, Mek'ele averaged AQI 52 against 61, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Addis Ababa and Mek'ele today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Addis Ababa reads AQI 54 and Mek'ele reads AQI 60.
Which has lost more forest, Addis Ababa or Mek'ele?
Addis Ababa has lost more: about 757 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Mek'ele. 60 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Addis Ababa or Mek'ele?
Mek'ele has more tree cover: 17.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.8% around Addis Ababa, or about 54,978 trees against 30,788. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Addis Ababa and Mek'ele need?
Addis Ababa needs about 63,460 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Mek'ele about 39,270 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Addis Ababa and Mek'ele 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 Addis Ababa vs Mek'ele 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 (Sep 9, 2026 and Sep 9, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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