Air quality comparison · Kazakhstan, 996 km apart
Astana vs Shymkent Air quality index (AQI) today
Astana has cleaner air than Shymkent right now: AQI 44 (Good) against 53 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Astana averaged AQI 52 against 55, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Shymkent has lost more forest since 2001. Shymkent has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Astana44Shymkent53
Head to head
Astana vs Shymkent at a glance
Astana is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Shymkent on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Astana | Shymkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 44 (better) | 53 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 7.1 (better) | 9.6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 52 (better) | 55 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 5 ha (better) | 19 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 17.3% | 22.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 39.8K | 22.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Astana and Shymkent right now?
Astana has cleaner air than Shymkent right now: AQI 44 (Good) against 53 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
AstanaShymkent
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.
Shymkent: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Tashkent and Khujand. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Astana averaged AQI 52 against 55, 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
- Astana5Shymkent2
- Average AQI
- Astana52Shymkent55
- Worst day, AQI
- Astana83Shymkent95
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Astana | Shymkent |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 46 | 95 |
| Nov 6 | 42 | 61 |
| Nov 7 | 54 | 56 |
| Nov 8 | 83 | 58 |
| Nov 9 | 33 | 55 |
| Nov 10 | 33 | 34 |
| Nov 11 | 71 | 23 |
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 Shymkent today?
Astana (AQI 44, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Shymkent (AQI 53, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Astana
- A good day to be active outside.
- Shymkent
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Astana
- Open them to air the house.
- Shymkent
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Astana
- Not needed.
- Shymkent
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Astana
- Not needed.
- Shymkent
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Astana and Shymkent compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Astana's air is cleaner than 66% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Shymkent's is cleaner than 57%. Within Kazakhstan, that is 18% and 9% of its 23 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Astana
- Beats 66%
- Shymkent
- Beats 57%
More tree cover than…
- Astana
- Beats 40%
- Shymkent
- Beats 53%
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 Shymkent?
Shymkent has lost more: about 19 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 5 ha around Astana. 15 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: 2007, with 6 ha lost.
| Astana | Shymkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 5 ha (better) | 19 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.6% (better) | 12% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 4 ha (better) | 15 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (68%) | Towns and roads (79%) |
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.
Shymkent
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Astana or Shymkent?
Shymkent has more tree cover: 22.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.3% around Astana, or about 71,628 trees against 54,241.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Astana | Shymkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 54.2K | 71.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 39.8K | 22.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg | 1.6M 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 Shymkent: your questions answered
Is Astana cleaner than Shymkent?
On air quality, yes, right now: Astana reads AQI 44 against 53, 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. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Astana averaged AQI 52 against 55, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Astana and Shymkent today?
In Astana, at AQI 44: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Shymkent, at AQI 53: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Astana or Shymkent?
Shymkent has lost more: about 19 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 5 ha around Astana. 15 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Astana or Shymkent?
Shymkent has more tree cover: 22.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.3% around Astana, or about 71,628 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 Shymkent need?
Astana needs about 39,818 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Shymkent about 22,619 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Astana and Shymkent 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 Astana vs Shymkent 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.
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