Air quality comparison · Angola, 254 km apart
Benguela vs Huambo Air quality index (AQI) today
Huambo has cleaner air than Benguela right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 56 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Huambo averaged AQI 50 against 59, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Huambo has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Benguela56Huambo27
Head to head
Benguela vs Huambo at a glance
Huambo is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Benguela on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Benguela | Huambo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 56 | 27 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.7 | 4.4 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 59 | 50 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 6.8% | 12.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 52.8K (better) | 56.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Benguela and Huambo right now?
Huambo has cleaner air than Benguela right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 56 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
BenguelaHuambo
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).
Benguela: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Huambo: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Huambo averaged AQI 50 against 59, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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
- Benguela1Huambo6
- Average AQI
- Benguela59Huambo50
- Worst day, AQI
- Benguela65Huambo66
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Benguela | Huambo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 61 | 55 |
| Nov 5 | 65 | 66 |
| Nov 6 | 61 | 51 |
| Nov 7 | 49 | 35 |
| Nov 8 | 56 | 53 |
| Nov 9 | 59 | 44 |
| Nov 10 | 59 | 45 |
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 Benguela and Huambo today?
Benguela (AQI 56, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Huambo (AQI 27, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Benguela
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Huambo
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Benguela
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Huambo
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Benguela
- Not needed for most people.
- Huambo
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Benguela
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Huambo
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Benguela and Huambo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Benguela's air is cleaner than 52% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Huambo's is cleaner than 83%. Within Angola, that is 12% and 100% of its 35 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Benguela
- Beats 52%
- Huambo
- Beats 83%
More tree cover than…
- Benguela
- Beats 14%
- Huambo
- Beats 27%
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.
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.
Benguela
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Huambo
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Benguela or Huambo?
Huambo has more tree cover: 12.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 6.8% around Benguela, or about 38,013 trees against 15,488.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Benguela | Huambo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 15.5K | 38.0K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 52.8K (better) | 56.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 341K kg | 836K 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
Benguela vs Huambo: your questions answered
Is Huambo cleaner than Benguela?
On air quality, yes, right now: Huambo reads AQI 27 against 56, a gap of 29 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, Huambo averaged AQI 50 against 59, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Benguela and Huambo today?
In Benguela, at AQI 56: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Huambo, at AQI 27: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has more trees, Benguela or Huambo?
Huambo has more tree cover: 12.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 6.8% around Benguela, or about 38,013 trees against 15,488. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Benguela and Huambo need?
Benguela needs about 52,842 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Huambo about 56,235 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Benguela and Huambo 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 Benguela vs Huambo 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 (Oct 18, 2026 and Oct 20, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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