Air quality comparison · Kazakhstan, 1685 km apart
Aktobe vs Almaty Air quality index (AQI) today
Aktobe has cleaner air than Almaty right now: AQI 13 (Good) against 35 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Aktobe averaged AQI 44 against 83, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Almaty has lost more forest since 2001. Almaty has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Aktobe13Almaty35
Head to head
Aktobe vs Almaty at a glance
Aktobe is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Almaty on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Aktobe | Almaty | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 13 (better) | 35 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 1.4 (better) | 6.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 44 (better) | 83 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | under 1 ha (better) | 114 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 9.1% | 37.0% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 65.5K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Aktobe and Almaty right now?
Aktobe has cleaner air than Almaty right now: AQI 13 (Good) against 35 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Almaty is read from a nearby ground station and Aktobe is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
AktobeAlmaty
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).
Aktobe: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Almaty: Ground station · Qazybek bi – Nurmaqov, 400 m away · median of 74 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Almaty Air Initiative, Nail Akhmedshin, Bolashaq.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Aktobe averaged AQI 44 against 83, 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
- Aktobe6Almaty0
- Average AQI
- Aktobe44Almaty83
- Worst day, AQI
- Aktobe66Almaty92
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Aktobe | Almaty |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 52 | 87 |
| Nov 6 | 21 | 92 |
| Nov 7 | 38 | 75 |
| Nov 8 | 66 | 81 |
| Nov 9 | 46 | 78 |
| Nov 10 | 41 | 85 |
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 Aktobe and Almaty today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Aktobe and Almaty compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Aktobe's air is cleaner than 94% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Almaty's is cleaner than 74%. Within Kazakhstan, that is 59% and 36% of its 23 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Aktobe
- Beats 94%
- Almaty
- Beats 74%
More tree cover than…
- Aktobe
- Beats 19%
- Almaty
- Beats 80%
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, Aktobe or Almaty?
Almaty has lost more: about 114 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Aktobe. 103 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: 2009, with under 1 ha lost.
Worst year: 2007, with 34 ha lost.
| Aktobe | Almaty | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | under 1 ha (better) | 114 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | under 1% (better) | 2.8% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 103 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Not classified | Towns and roads (88%) |
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.
Aktobe
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Almaty
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Aktobe or Almaty?
Almaty has more tree cover: 37.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.1% around Aktobe, or about 116,239 trees against 28,531.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Aktobe | Almaty | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 28.5K | 116K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 65.5K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 628K kg | 2.6M 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
Aktobe vs Almaty: your questions answered
Is Aktobe cleaner than Almaty?
On air quality, yes, right now: Aktobe reads AQI 13 against 35, a gap of 22 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Aktobe averaged AQI 44 against 83, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Aktobe and Almaty today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Aktobe reads AQI 13 and Almaty reads AQI 35.
Which has lost more forest, Aktobe or Almaty?
Almaty has lost more: about 114 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Aktobe. 103 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Aktobe or Almaty?
Almaty has more tree cover: 37.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.1% around Aktobe, or about 116,239 trees against 28,531. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Aktobe and Almaty need?
Aktobe needs about 65,528 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Almaty about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Aktobe and Almaty 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. Almaty is read from a nearby ground station and Aktobe is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Aktobe vs Almaty 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 18, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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