Bangkok vs Sai Mai
Tree cover and air quality for both, measured the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius from each city centre, and the live US EPA air quality index. Same radius and same index, so the two numbers compare directly.
Sai Mai has more tree cover — 11.7% against 11.2%.
Sai Mai has cleaner air right now — AQI 13 against 30.
- Tree cover gap
- 0.5 points
- Sai Mai is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 17 AQI
- Sai Mai is cleaner.
- Trees between them
- 4.8K
- Sai Mai has more standing.
Tree cover
Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.
11.2%
11.7%
Air quality index
US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.
30 · Good
13 · Good
Trees standing
Estimated from the measured canopy area.
31.9K
36.7K
Trees still needed
To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.
53.5K
57.4K
CO₂ absorbed each year
By the trees already standing.
701K kg
807K kg
Air quality in detail
What each city is breathing
Concentrations in µg/m³, measured at the same moment as the index above. Lower is better in every row. Both are read from nearby ground stations.
PM2.5
Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.
7.1 µg/m³
3.1 µg/m³
The last week, day by day
A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon. The week says whether it was the weather or the place.
| Day | Bangkok | Sai Mai |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept | 66 | 85 |
| 23 Sept | 92 | 94 |
| 24 Sept | 68 | 61 |
| 25 Sept | 28 | 40 |
| 26 Sept | 20 | 23 |
| 27 Sept | 21 | 17 |
| 28 Sept | 26 | 26 |
Reading these numbers
What is actually being measured
Tree cover
The share of ground under canopy inside a 2 km radius of each city centre, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It is a measurement of that circle, not of the whole municipality — which is exactly what makes the two comparable, since city boundaries are drawn to wildly different rules around the world. Sai Mai leads here at 11.7%.
Air quality index
The live US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations — ground stations where a city has them nearby, and a model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so this is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place: Bangkok reads 30 (good) and Sai Mai reads 13 (good) right now.
Frequently asked
Bangkok and Sai Mai, answered
Which has more trees, Bangkok or Sai Mai?
Sai Mai, with roughly 36,683 trees inside its 2 km radius against 31,878. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Sai Mai has the denser canopy at 11.7%.
Which has better air quality, Bangkok or Sai Mai?
Sai Mai right now, at AQI 13 against 30 — a gap of 17 points. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day.
How many more trees does each city need?
Bangkok needs about 53,510 more to reach its canopy target, and Sai Mai about 57,376. The target is the same share of ground for both, so the figures are directly comparable.
Are these two measured the same way?
Yes — that is the point of the page. Identical radius, identical satellite source at 10 m detail, and the same US EPA index for air. Nothing here is adjusted for population, city limits or climate, so the numbers describe the same-sized circle of ground in each place.
Keep going
Other comparisons nearby
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- Bangkok vs Samut Prakan35% tree cover · AQI 17Compare
- Bangkok vs Ban Samae Dam48% tree cover · AQI 10Compare
- Bangkok vs Mueang Nonthaburi31% tree cover · AQI 13Compare
- Bangkok vs Khlong Luang41% tree cover · AQI 13Compare
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