Air quality comparison · Bangladesh, 29 km apart
Bagerhat vs Khulna Air quality index (AQI) today
Bagerhat has cleaner air than Khulna right now: AQI 52 (Moderate) against 169 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Khulna averaged AQI 135 against 138, and it was the cleaner of the two on 1 of those days. Bagerhat has lost more forest since 2001. Bagerhat has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Bagerhat52Khulna169
Head to head
Bagerhat vs Khulna at a glance
Bagerhat is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Khulna on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Bagerhat | Khulna | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 52 (better) | 169 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 9 (better) | 81.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 138 | 135 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 6 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 76.9% (better) | 38.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 3.1K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Bagerhat and Khulna right now?
Bagerhat has cleaner air than Khulna right now: AQI 52 (Moderate) against 169 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Khulna's PM2.5 is about 5.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Khulna is read from a nearby ground station and Bagerhat is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
BagerhatKhulna
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).
Bagerhat: Estimate · model corrected with 9 station cities within 145 km, e.g. Khulna and Narayanganj. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 9 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index.
Khulna: Ground station · Khulna City | Smart Air Bangladesh, 1.3 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Smart Air Bangladesh.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Khulna averaged AQI 135 against 138, and it was the cleaner of the two on 1 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
- Bagerhat0Khulna1
- Average AQI
- Bagerhat138Khulna135
- Worst day, AQI
- Bagerhat168Khulna168
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Bagerhat | Khulna |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6 | 153 | 153 |
| Nov 7 | 168 | 168 |
| Nov 8 | 162 | 162 |
| Nov 9 | 147 | 147 |
| Nov 10 | 91 | 91 |
| Nov 11 | 109 | 91 |
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 Bagerhat and Khulna today?
Bagerhat (AQI 52, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Khulna (AQI 169, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Exercise outdoors
- Bagerhat
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Khulna
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
Windows
- Bagerhat
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Khulna
- Keep them closed.
Masks
- Bagerhat
- Not needed for most people.
- Khulna
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Bagerhat
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Khulna
- Run one.
Against everywhere else
How do Bagerhat and Khulna compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Bagerhat's air is cleaner than 59% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Khulna's is cleaner than 7%. Within Bangladesh, that is 98% and 34% of its 45 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Bagerhat
- Beats 59%
- Khulna
- Beats 7%
More tree cover than…
- Bagerhat
- Beats 99%
- Khulna
- Beats 82%
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, Bagerhat or Khulna?
Bagerhat has lost more: about 6 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2 ha around Khulna. 4 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: 2024, with 2 ha lost.
Worst year: 2018, with under 1 ha lost.
| Bagerhat | Khulna | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 6 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | under 1% (better) | under 1% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 4 ha | 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 (67%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (29%) |
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.
Bagerhat
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Khulna
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Bagerhat or Khulna?
Bagerhat has more tree cover: 76.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 38.9% around Khulna, or about 223,469 trees against 108,887.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Bagerhat | Khulna | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 223K (better) | 109K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 3.1K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 4.9M kg (better) | 2.4M 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
Bagerhat vs Khulna: your questions answered
Is Bagerhat cleaner than Khulna?
On air quality, yes, right now: Bagerhat reads AQI 52 against 169, a gap of 117 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, Khulna averaged AQI 135 against 138, and it was the cleaner of the two on 1 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Bagerhat and Khulna today?
In Bagerhat, at AQI 52: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Khulna, at AQI 169: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Which has lost more forest, Bagerhat or Khulna?
Bagerhat has lost more: about 6 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2 ha around Khulna. 4 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Bagerhat or Khulna?
Bagerhat has more tree cover: 76.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 38.9% around Khulna, or about 223,469 trees against 108,887. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Bagerhat and Khulna need?
Bagerhat needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Khulna about 3,079 to reach 40%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 29 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Bagerhat and Khulna 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. Khulna is read from a nearby ground station and Bagerhat 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 Bagerhat vs Khulna 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 (Nov 6, 2026 and Oct 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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