Air quality comparison · Kyrgyzstan, 300 km apart
Bishkek vs Osh Air quality index (AQI) today
Bishkek has cleaner air than Osh right now: AQI 6 (Good) against 11 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Bishkek averaged AQI 51 against 59, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Bishkek has lost more forest since 2001. Bishkek has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Bishkek6Osh11
Head to head
Bishkek vs Osh at a glance
Bishkek is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Osh on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Bishkek | Osh | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 6 (better) | 11 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 0.8 (better) | 1.9 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 51 (better) | 59 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 11 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 21.6% (better) | 11.6% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 26.4K (better) | 57.8K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Bishkek and Osh right now?
Bishkek has cleaner air than Osh right now: AQI 6 (Good) against 11 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
BishkekOsh
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).
Bishkek: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Osh: 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, Bishkek averaged AQI 51 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
- Bishkek6Osh1
- Average AQI
- Bishkek51Osh59
- Worst day, AQI
- Bishkek69Osh78
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Bishkek | Osh |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 53 | 78 |
| Nov 6 | 44 | 60 |
| Nov 7 | 57 | 63 |
| Nov 8 | 52 | 53 |
| Nov 9 | 59 | 60 |
| Nov 10 | 69 | 73 |
| Nov 11 | 25 | 24 |
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 Bishkek and Osh 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 Bishkek and Osh compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Bishkek's air is cleaner than 98% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Osh's is cleaner than 96%. Within Kyrgyzstan, that is 100% and 75% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Bishkek
- Beats 98%
- Osh
- Beats 96%
More tree cover than…
- Bishkek
- Beats 50%
- Osh
- Beats 25%
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, Bishkek or Osh?
Bishkek has lost more: about 11 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2 ha around Osh. 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: 2002, with 2 ha lost.
Worst year: 2006, with under 1 ha lost.
| Bishkek | Osh | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 11 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| 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 (30%) | Towns and roads (60%) |
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.
Bishkek
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Osh
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Bishkek or Osh?
Bishkek has more tree cover: 21.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 11.6% around Osh, or about 67,858 trees against 36,442.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Bishkek | Osh | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 67.9K (better) | 36.4K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 26.4K (better) | 57.8K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.5M kg (better) | 802K 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
Bishkek vs Osh: your questions answered
Is Bishkek cleaner than Osh?
On air quality, yes, right now: Bishkek reads AQI 6 against 11, a gap of 5 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, Bishkek averaged AQI 51 against 59, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Bishkek and Osh today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Bishkek reads AQI 6 and Osh reads AQI 11.
Which has lost more forest, Bishkek or Osh?
Bishkek has lost more: about 11 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2 ha around Osh. 4 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Bishkek or Osh?
Bishkek has more tree cover: 21.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 11.6% around Osh, or about 67,858 trees against 36,442. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Bishkek and Osh need?
Bishkek needs about 26,389 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Osh about 57,805 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Bishkek and Osh 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 Bishkek vs Osh 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 19, 2026 and Sep 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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