Air quality comparison · Kazakhstan, 784 km apart
Almaty vs Karagandy Air quality index (AQI) today
Almaty has cleaner air than Karagandy right now: AQI 36 (Good) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Karagandy averaged AQI 48 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.
Almaty36Karagandy113
Head to head
Almaty vs Karagandy at a glance
Almaty is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Karagandy on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Almaty | Karagandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 36 (better) | 113 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6.4 (better) | 40.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 83 | 48 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 114 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 37.0% (better) | 26.1% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 27.7K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Almaty and Karagandy right now?
Almaty has cleaner air than Karagandy right now: AQI 36 (Good) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Karagandy's PM2.5 is about 2.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
AlmatyKaragandy
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).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Karagandy averaged AQI 48 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
- Almaty0Karagandy6
- Average AQI
- Almaty83Karagandy48
- Worst day, AQI
- Almaty92Karagandy79
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Almaty | Karagandy |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 87 | 79 |
| Nov 6 | 92 | 36 |
| Nov 7 | 75 | 53 |
| Nov 8 | 81 | 59 |
| Nov 9 | 78 | 37 |
| Nov 10 | 85 | 21 |
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 Karagandy today?
Almaty (AQI 36, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Karagandy (AQI 113, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Almaty
- A good day to be active outside.
- Karagandy
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Almaty
- Open them to air the house.
- Karagandy
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Almaty
- Not needed.
- Karagandy
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Almaty
- Not needed.
- Karagandy
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Almaty and Karagandy compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Almaty's air is cleaner than 74% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Karagandy's is cleaner than 18%. Within Kazakhstan, that is 36% and 0% of its 23 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Almaty
- Beats 74%
- Karagandy
- Beats 18%
More tree cover than…
- Almaty
- Beats 80%
- Karagandy
- Beats 60%
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 Karagandy?
Almaty has lost more: about 114 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Karagandy. 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: 2024, with 2 ha lost.
| Almaty | Karagandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 114 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 103 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 (88%) | Logging (45%) |
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.
Karagandy
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Almaty or Karagandy?
Almaty has more tree cover: 37.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 26.1% around Karagandy, or about 116,239 trees against 81,176.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Almaty | Karagandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 116K (better) | 81.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 27.7K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.6M kg (better) | 1.8M 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 Karagandy: your questions answered
Is Almaty cleaner than Karagandy?
On air quality, yes, right now: Almaty reads AQI 36 against 113, a gap of 77 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, Karagandy averaged AQI 48 against 83, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Almaty and Karagandy today?
In Almaty, at AQI 36: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Karagandy, at AQI 113: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Almaty or Karagandy?
Almaty has lost more: about 114 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Karagandy. 103 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Almaty or Karagandy?
Almaty has more tree cover: 37.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 26.1% around Karagandy, or about 116,239 trees against 81,176. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Almaty and Karagandy need?
Almaty needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Karagandy about 27,681 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Almaty and Karagandy 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 come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Almaty vs Karagandy 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 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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