Air quality comparison · Jordan, 346 km apart
Aqaba vs Irbid Air quality index (AQI) today
Irbid has cleaner air than Aqaba right now: AQI 68 (Moderate) against 88 (Moderate).
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, Irbid averaged AQI 43 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Aqaba has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Aqaba88Irbid68
Head to head
Aqaba vs Irbid at a glance
Irbid is ahead on 3 of 5 measures, and Aqaba on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Aqaba | Irbid | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 88 | 68 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 25.2 | 19.9 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 52 | 43 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.1% (better) | 1.0% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 74.3K (better) | 91.1K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Aqaba and Irbid right now?
Irbid has cleaner air than Aqaba right now: AQI 68 (Moderate) against 88 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Aqaba's PM2.5 is about 1.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Irbid's PM2.5 is about 1.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
AqabaIrbid
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).
Aqaba: Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Be'er Sheva and Hebron. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
Irbid: Estimate · model corrected with 17 station cities within 145 km, e.g. Haifa and Netanya. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 17 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Irbid averaged AQI 43 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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
- Aqaba2Irbid4
- Average AQI
- Aqaba52Irbid43
- Worst day, AQI
- Aqaba59Irbid56
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Aqaba | Irbid |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 53 | 56 |
| Nov 6 | 41 | 45 |
| Nov 7 | 52 | 32 |
| Nov 8 | 56 | 36 |
| Nov 9 | 50 | 48 |
| Nov 10 | 59 | 39 |
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 Aqaba and Irbid 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 Aqaba and Irbid compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Aqaba's air is cleaner than 26% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Irbid's is cleaner than 39%. Within Jordan, that is 22% and 44% of its 10 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Aqaba
- Beats 26%
- Irbid
- Beats 39%
More tree cover than…
- Aqaba
- Beats 2%
- Irbid
- Beats 2%
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.
Aqaba
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Irbid
2018: satellite photo from August 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Aqaba or Irbid?
Aqaba has more tree cover: 1.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.0% around Irbid, or about 2,827 trees against 3,142.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Aqaba | Irbid | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 2.8K | 3.1K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 74.3K (better) | 91.1K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 62.2K kg | 69.1K 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
Aqaba vs Irbid: your questions answered
Is Irbid cleaner than Aqaba?
On air quality, yes, right now: Irbid reads AQI 68 against 88, a gap of 20 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, Irbid averaged AQI 43 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Aqaba and Irbid today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Aqaba reads AQI 88 and Irbid reads AQI 68.
Which has more trees, Aqaba or Irbid?
Aqaba has more tree cover: 1.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.0% around Irbid, or about 2,827 trees against 3,142. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Aqaba and Irbid need?
Aqaba needs about 74,268 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Irbid about 91,106 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Aqaba and Irbid 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 Aqaba vs Irbid 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 16, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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