Air quality comparison · Kazakhstan, 193 km apart
Astana vs Karagandy Air quality index (AQI) today
Astana has cleaner air than Karagandy right now: AQI 44 (Good) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Karagandy averaged AQI 45 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Karagandy has lost more forest since 2001. Karagandy has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Astana44Karagandy113
Head to head
Astana vs Karagandy at a glance
Astana and Karagandy are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Astana | Karagandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 44 (better) | 113 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 7.1 (better) | 40.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 52 | 45 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 5 ha (better) | 7 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 17.3% | 26.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 39.8K | 27.7K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Astana and Karagandy right now?
Astana has cleaner air than Karagandy right now: AQI 44 (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.
Karagandy is read from a nearby ground station and Astana is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
AstanaKaragandy
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).
Astana: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Karagandy: Ground station · Erubaeva, 1.4 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Arai.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Karagandy averaged AQI 45 against 52, 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
- Astana2Karagandy5
- Average AQI
- Astana52Karagandy45
- Worst day, AQI
- Astana83Karagandy79
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Astana | Karagandy |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 46 | 79 |
| Nov 6 | 42 | 36 |
| Nov 7 | 54 | 53 |
| Nov 8 | 83 | 59 |
| Nov 9 | 33 | 37 |
| Nov 10 | 33 | 21 |
| Nov 11 | 71 | 32 |
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 Astana and Karagandy today?
Astana (AQI 44, 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
- Astana
- 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
- Astana
- Open them to air the house.
- Karagandy
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Astana
- Not needed.
- Karagandy
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Astana
- Not needed.
- Karagandy
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Astana and Karagandy compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Astana's air is cleaner than 67% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Karagandy's is cleaner than 18%. Within Kazakhstan, that is 23% and 0% of its 23 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Astana
- Beats 67%
- Karagandy
- Beats 18%
More tree cover than…
- Astana
- Beats 40%
- 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, Astana or Karagandy?
Karagandy has lost more: about 7 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 5 ha around Astana. under 1 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: 2012, with 3 ha lost.
Worst year: 2024, with 2 ha lost.
| Astana | Karagandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 5 ha (better) | 7 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 4 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 (68%) | 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.
Astana
2017: satellite photo from September 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, Astana or Karagandy?
Karagandy has more tree cover: 26.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.3% around Astana, or about 81,176 trees against 54,241.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Astana | Karagandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 54.2K | 81.2K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 39.8K | 27.7K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg | 1.8M 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
Astana vs Karagandy: your questions answered
Is Astana cleaner than Karagandy?
On air quality, yes, right now: Astana reads AQI 44 against 113, a gap of 69 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, Karagandy averaged AQI 45 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Astana and Karagandy today?
In Astana, at AQI 44: 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, Astana or Karagandy?
Karagandy has lost more: about 7 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 5 ha around Astana. under 1 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Astana or Karagandy?
Karagandy has more tree cover: 26.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.3% around Astana, or about 81,176 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 Astana and Karagandy need?
Astana needs about 39,818 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 Astana 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. Karagandy 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 Astana 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 8, 2026 and Sep 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Astana with somewhere else
This place
Astana