Air quality comparison · Egypt, 285 km apart
Alexandria vs Suez Air quality index (AQI) today
Suez has cleaner air than Alexandria right now: AQI 87 (Moderate) against 94 (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, Alexandria averaged AQI 39 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Alexandria has lost more forest since 2001. Alexandria has more tree cover.
Egypt
AQI 94
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 30 µg/m³2.0× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 12:00 local
Egypt
AQI 87
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 24 µg/m³1.6× WHO guideline
- 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.
Alexandria94Suez87
Head to head
Alexandria vs Suez at a glance
Alexandria and Suez are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Alexandria | Suez | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 94 | 87 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 30 | 24 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 39 (better) | 52 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 19 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 3.9% (better) | 0.2% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 64.6K (better) | 93.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Alexandria and Suez right now?
Suez has cleaner air than Alexandria right now: AQI 87 (Moderate) against 94 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Alexandria's PM2.5 is about 2.0× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Suez's PM2.5 is about 1.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
AlexandriaSuez
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).
Alexandria: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 205 km, e.g. Obour and New Cairo 1. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index.
Suez: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 105 km, e.g. 10th of Ramadan City 1 and New Cairo 1. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 105 km, 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, Alexandria averaged AQI 39 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 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
- Alexandria7Suez0
- Average AQI
- Alexandria39Suez52
- Worst day, AQI
- Alexandria46Suez60
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Alexandria | Suez |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 42 | 55 |
| Nov 6 | 46 | 52 |
| Nov 7 | 33 | 54 |
| Nov 8 | 36 | 60 |
| Nov 9 | 38 | 50 |
| Nov 10 | 43 | 53 |
| Nov 11 | 38 | 43 |
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 Alexandria and Suez 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 Alexandria and Suez compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Alexandria's air is cleaner than 23% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Suez's is cleaner than 26%. Within Egypt, that is 52% and 61% of its 65 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Alexandria
- Beats 23%
- Suez
- Beats 26%
More tree cover than…
- Alexandria
- Beats 8%
- Suez
- Beats 0%
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, Alexandria or Suez?
Alexandria has lost more: about 19 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Suez. 11 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: 2008, with 3 ha lost.
No forest lost in any year.
| Alexandria | Suez | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 19 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 11 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (37%) | 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.
Alexandria
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Suez
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Alexandria or Suez?
Alexandria has more tree cover: 3.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.2% around Suez, or about 9,655 trees against 628.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Alexandria | Suez | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 9.7K (better) | 628 |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 64.6K (better) | 93.6K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 212K kg (better) | 13.8K 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
Alexandria vs Suez: your questions answered
Is Suez cleaner than Alexandria?
On air quality, yes, right now: Suez reads AQI 87 against 94, a gap of 7 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, Alexandria averaged AQI 39 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Alexandria and Suez today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Alexandria reads AQI 94 and Suez reads AQI 87.
Which has lost more forest, Alexandria or Suez?
Alexandria has lost more: about 19 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Suez. 11 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Alexandria or Suez?
Alexandria has more tree cover: 3.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.2% around Suez, or about 9,655 trees against 628. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Alexandria and Suez need?
Alexandria needs about 64,613 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Suez about 93,619 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Alexandria and Suez 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 Alexandria vs Suez 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 17, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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