Air quality comparison · China, 1890 km apart
Beijing vs Guangzhou Air quality index (AQI) today
Guangzhou has cleaner air than Beijing right now: AQI 114 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 171 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Guangzhou averaged AQI 94 against 176, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Guangzhou has lost more forest since 2001. Beijing has more tree cover.
China
AQI 171
Unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 84.6 µg/m³5.6× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 00:00 local
China
AQI 114
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 40.8 µg/m³2.7× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 23:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Beijing171Guangzhou114
Head to head
Beijing vs Guangzhou at a glance
Guangzhou is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Beijing on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Beijing | Guangzhou | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 171 | 114 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 84.6 | 40.8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 176 | 94 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | under 1 ha (better) | 30 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 19.6% (better) | 17.2% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 61.0K | 51.2K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Beijing and Guangzhou right now?
Guangzhou has cleaner air than Beijing right now: AQI 114 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 171 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Beijing's PM2.5 is about 5.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Guangzhou's PM2.5 is about 2.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
BeijingGuangzhou
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).
Beijing: Ground station · Temple of Heaven, Dongcheng, Beijing (东城天坛), 2.5 km away · median of 5 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Beijing Environmental Protection Monitoring Center (北京市环境保护监测中心).
Guangzhou: Ground station · shì wǔ zhōng, Guangzhou (广州市五中), 1.7 km away · median of 7 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Guangdong Environmental Protection public network (广东环境保护公众网).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Guangzhou averaged AQI 94 against 176, 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
- Beijing0Guangzhou7
- Average AQI
- Beijing176Guangzhou94
- Worst day, AQI
- Beijing259Guangzhou137
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Beijing | Guangzhou |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 189 | 137 |
| Nov 6 | 166 | 109 |
| Nov 7 | 143 | 114 |
| Nov 8 | 108 | 101 |
| Nov 9 | 165 | 57 |
| Nov 10 | 201 | 68 |
| Nov 11 | 259 | 69 |
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 Beijing and Guangzhou today?
Beijing (AQI 171, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Guangzhou (AQI 114, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Beijing
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
- Guangzhou
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Beijing
- Keep them closed.
- Guangzhou
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Beijing
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
- Guangzhou
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Beijing
- Run one.
- Guangzhou
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Beijing and Guangzhou compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Beijing's air is cleaner than 6% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Guangzhou's is cleaner than 17%. Within China, that is 8% and 42% of its 639 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Beijing
- Beats 6%
- Guangzhou
- Beats 17%
More tree cover than…
- Beijing
- Beats 46%
- Guangzhou
- Beats 40%
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, Beijing or Guangzhou?
Guangzhou has lost more: about 30 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Beijing. 26 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: 2002, with under 1 ha lost.
Worst year: 2021, with 11 ha lost.
| Beijing | Guangzhou | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | under 1 ha (better) | 30 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 26 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Not classified | Towns and roads (87%) |
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.
Beijing
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Guangzhou
2018: satellite photo from November 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Beijing or Guangzhou?
Beijing has more tree cover: 19.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.2% around Guangzhou, or about 58,620 trees against 49,496.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Beijing | Guangzhou | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 58.6K (better) | 49.5K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 61.0K | 51.2K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.3M kg (better) | 1.1M 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
Beijing vs Guangzhou: your questions answered
Is Guangzhou cleaner than Beijing?
On air quality, yes, right now: Guangzhou reads AQI 114 against 171, a gap of 57 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, Guangzhou averaged AQI 94 against 176, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Beijing and Guangzhou today?
In Beijing, at AQI 171: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. In Guangzhou, at AQI 114: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Beijing or Guangzhou?
Guangzhou has lost more: about 30 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Beijing. 26 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Beijing or Guangzhou?
Beijing has more tree cover: 19.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.2% around Guangzhou, or about 58,620 trees against 49,496. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Beijing and Guangzhou need?
Beijing needs about 61,012 more to reach its canopy target of 40%, and Guangzhou about 51,223 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Beijing and Guangzhou 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 Beijing vs Guangzhou 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 17, 2026 and Aug 11, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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