Air quality comparison · Iraq, 49 km apart
Al Hillah vs Najaf Air quality index (AQI) today
Najaf has cleaner air than Al Hillah right now: AQI 64 (Moderate) against 72 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Najaf averaged AQI 66 against 76, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Al Hillah has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Al Hillah72Najaf64
Head to head
Al Hillah vs Najaf at a glance
Najaf is ahead on 3 of 5 measures, and Al Hillah on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Al Hillah | Najaf | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 72 | 64 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 18.4 | 16.4 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 76 | 66 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 2.2% (better) | 1.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 87.2K (better) | 88.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Al Hillah and Najaf right now?
Najaf has cleaner air than Al Hillah right now: AQI 64 (Moderate) against 72 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Al Hillah's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Najaf's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
Al HillahNajaf
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).
Al Hillah: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 105 km, e.g. Baghdad and Baghdad. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index.
Najaf: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 165 km, e.g. Baghdad and Baghdad. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Najaf averaged AQI 66 against 76, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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
- Al Hillah2Najaf5
- Average AQI
- Al Hillah76Najaf66
- Worst day, AQI
- Al Hillah113Najaf116
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Al Hillah | Najaf |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 89 | 91 |
| Nov 6 | 99 | 93 |
| Nov 7 | 113 | 116 |
| Nov 8 | 88 | 77 |
| Nov 9 | 51 | 35 |
| Nov 10 | 47 | 27 |
| Nov 11 | 46 | 24 |
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 Al Hillah and Najaf 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 Al Hillah and Najaf compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Al Hillah's air is cleaner than 36% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Najaf's is cleaner than 43%. Within Iraq, that is 38% and 56% of its 49 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Al Hillah
- Beats 36%
- Najaf
- Beats 43%
More tree cover than…
- Al Hillah
- Beats 5%
- Najaf
- Beats 4%
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.
Al Hillah
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Najaf
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Al Hillah or Najaf?
Al Hillah has more tree cover: 2.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.9% around Najaf, or about 6,905 trees against 5,969.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Al Hillah | Najaf | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 6.9K (better) | 6.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 87.2K (better) | 88.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 152K kg (better) | 131K 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
Al Hillah vs Najaf: your questions answered
Is Najaf cleaner than Al Hillah?
On air quality, yes, right now: Najaf reads AQI 64 against 72, a gap of 8 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Najaf averaged AQI 66 against 76, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Al Hillah and Najaf today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Al Hillah reads AQI 72 and Najaf reads AQI 64.
Which has more trees, Al Hillah or Najaf?
Al Hillah has more tree cover: 2.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.9% around Najaf, or about 6,905 trees against 5,969. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Al Hillah and Najaf need?
Al Hillah needs about 87,249 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Najaf about 88,279 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 49 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Al Hillah and Najaf 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 Al Hillah vs Najaf 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 24, 2026 and Sep 24, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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