Air quality comparison · Brunei, 86 km apart
Bandar Seri Begawan vs Kuala Belait Air quality index (AQI) today
Bandar Seri Begawan has cleaner air than Kuala Belait right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 28 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kuala Belait averaged AQI 26 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Kuala Belait has lost more forest since 2001. Bandar Seri Begawan has more tree cover.
Brunei
AQI 27
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 4.8 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 00:00 local
Brunei
AQI 28
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 5 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 00:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Bandar Seri Begawan27Kuala Belait28
Head to head
Bandar Seri Begawan vs Kuala Belait at a glance
Bandar Seri Begawan is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Kuala Belait on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Bandar Seri Begawan | Kuala Belait | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 27 (better) | 28 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 4.8 (better) | 5 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 42 | 26 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 2,240 ha (better) | 4,560 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 56.3% (better) | 37.5% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 | 0 |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait right now?
Bandar Seri Begawan has cleaner air than Kuala Belait right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 28 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Bandar Seri BegawanKuala Belait
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).
Bandar Seri Begawan: Ground station · Limbang, Sarawak, Malaysia, 16.7 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System.
Kuala Belait: Ground station · ILP Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia, 23 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kuala Belait averaged AQI 26 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 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
- Bandar Seri Begawan0Kuala Belait7
- Average AQI
- Bandar Seri Begawan42Kuala Belait26
- Worst day, AQI
- Bandar Seri Begawan54Kuala Belait41
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Bandar Seri Begawan | Kuala Belait |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 54 | 41 |
| Nov 6 | 54 | 41 |
| Nov 7 | 33 | 25 |
| Nov 8 | 28 | 15 |
| Nov 9 | 37 | 24 |
| Nov 10 | 38 | 26 |
| Nov 11 | 47 | 12 |
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 Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Bandar Seri Begawan's air is cleaner than 82% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kuala Belait's is cleaner than 81%.
Cleaner air than…
- Bandar Seri Begawan
- Beats 82%
- Kuala Belait
- Beats 81%
More tree cover than…
- Bandar Seri Begawan
- Beats 95%
- Kuala Belait
- Beats 80%
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, Bandar Seri Begawan or Kuala Belait?
Kuala Belait has lost more: about 4,560 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,240 ha around Bandar Seri Begawan. 3,800 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: 2015, with 178 ha lost.
Worst year: 2012, with 1,550 ha lost.
| Bandar Seri Begawan | Kuala Belait | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2,240 ha (better) | 4,560 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 13% (better) | 29% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 2,110 ha (better) | 3,800 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (58%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (75%) |
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.
Bandar Seri Begawan
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
Kuala Belait
2019: satellite photo from April 2019 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km southeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Bandar Seri Begawan or Kuala Belait?
Bandar Seri Begawan has more tree cover: 56.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 37.5% around Kuala Belait, or about 156,355 trees against 100,610.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Bandar Seri Begawan | Kuala Belait | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 156K (better) | 101K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 | 0 |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 3.4M kg (better) | 2.2M 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
Bandar Seri Begawan vs Kuala Belait: your questions answered
Is Bandar Seri Begawan cleaner than Kuala Belait?
On air quality, yes, right now: Bandar Seri Begawan reads AQI 27 against 28, a gap of 1 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, Kuala Belait averaged AQI 26 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Bandar Seri Begawan reads AQI 27 and Kuala Belait reads AQI 28.
Which has lost more forest, Bandar Seri Begawan or Kuala Belait?
Kuala Belait has lost more: about 4,560 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,240 ha around Bandar Seri Begawan. 3,800 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Bandar Seri Begawan or Kuala Belait?
Bandar Seri Begawan has more tree cover: 56.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 37.5% around Kuala Belait, or about 156,355 trees against 100,610. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait need?
Bandar Seri Begawan needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kuala Belait about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait 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 Bandar Seri Begawan vs Kuala Belait 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 4, 2026 and Sep 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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