Air quality comparison · Kazakhstan, 973 km apart
Almaty vs Astana Air quality index (AQI) today
Almaty has cleaner air than Astana right now: AQI 35 (Good) against 44 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Astana averaged AQI 49 against 83, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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.
Almaty35Astana44
Head to head
Almaty vs Astana at a glance
Almaty is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Astana on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Almaty | Astana | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 35 (better) | 44 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6.3 (better) | 7.1 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 83 | 49 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 114 ha | 5 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 37.0% (better) | 17.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 39.8K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Almaty and Astana right now?
Almaty has cleaner air than Astana right now: AQI 35 (Good) against 44 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Almaty is read from a nearby ground station and Astana is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
AlmatyAstana
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).
Almaty: Ground station · Qazybek bi – Nurmaqov, 400 m away · median of 74 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Almaty Air Initiative, Nail Akhmedshin, Bolashaq.
Astana: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Astana averaged AQI 49 against 83, 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
- Almaty1Astana5
- Average AQI
- Almaty83Astana49
- Worst day, AQI
- Almaty92Astana83
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Almaty | Astana |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 87 | 46 |
| Nov 6 | 92 | 42 |
| Nov 7 | 75 | 54 |
| Nov 8 | 81 | 83 |
| Nov 9 | 78 | 33 |
| Nov 10 | 85 | 33 |
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 Almaty and Astana 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 Almaty and Astana compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Almaty's air is cleaner than 74% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Astana's is cleaner than 66%. Within Kazakhstan, that is 36% and 18% of its 23 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Almaty
- Beats 74%
- Astana
- Beats 66%
More tree cover than…
- Almaty
- Beats 80%
- Astana
- 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, Almaty or Astana?
Almaty has lost more: about 114 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 5 ha around Astana. 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: 2007, with 34 ha lost.
Worst year: 2012, with 3 ha lost.
| Almaty | Astana | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 114 ha | 5 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.8% | 2.6% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 103 ha | 4 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (88%) | Towns and roads (68%) |
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.
Almaty
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Astana
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Almaty or Astana?
Almaty has more tree cover: 37.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.3% around Astana, or about 116,239 trees against 54,241.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Almaty | Astana | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 116K (better) | 54.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 39.8K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.6M kg (better) | 1.2M 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
Almaty vs Astana: your questions answered
Is Almaty cleaner than Astana?
On air quality, yes, right now: Almaty reads AQI 35 against 44, a gap of 9 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Astana averaged AQI 49 against 83, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Almaty and Astana today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Almaty reads AQI 35 and Astana reads AQI 44.
Which has lost more forest, Almaty or Astana?
Almaty has lost more: about 114 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 5 ha around Astana. 103 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Almaty or Astana?
Almaty has more tree cover: 37.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.3% around Astana, or about 116,239 trees against 54,241. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Almaty and Astana need?
Almaty needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Astana about 39,818 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Almaty and Astana 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 Astana 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 Almaty vs Astana 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 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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