Air quality comparison · Somalia, 910 km apart
Borama vs Mogadishu Air quality index (AQI) today
Mogadishu has cleaner air than Borama right now: AQI 32 (Good) against 35 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Borama averaged AQI 41 against 44, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Mogadishu has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Borama35Mogadishu32
Head to head
Borama vs Mogadishu at a glance
Mogadishu is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Borama on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Borama | Mogadishu | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 35 | 32 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6 | 5.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 41 (better) | 44 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.8% | 3.3% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 88.6K | 59.0K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Borama and Mogadishu right now?
Mogadishu has cleaner air than Borama right now: AQI 32 (Good) against 35 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
BoramaMogadishu
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).
Borama: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Mogadishu: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Borama averaged AQI 41 against 44, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 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
- Borama3Mogadishu3
- Average AQI
- Borama41Mogadishu44
- Worst day, AQI
- Borama47Mogadishu62
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Borama | Mogadishu |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 47 | 62 |
| Nov 6 | 41 | 58 |
| Nov 7 | 42 | 45 |
| Nov 8 | 44 | 36 |
| Nov 9 | 33 | 32 |
| Nov 10 | 40 | 33 |
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 Borama and Mogadishu 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 Borama and Mogadishu compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Borama's air is cleaner than 74% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Mogadishu's is cleaner than 77%. Within Somalia, that is 11% and 33% of its 10 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Borama
- Beats 74%
- Mogadishu
- Beats 77%
More tree cover than…
- Borama
- Beats 3%
- Mogadishu
- Beats 7%
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.
Borama
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Mogadishu
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Borama or Mogadishu?
Mogadishu has more tree cover: 3.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.8% around Borama, or about 7,288 trees against 5,655.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Borama | Mogadishu | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 5.7K | 7.3K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 88.6K | 59.0K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 124K kg | 160K 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
Borama vs Mogadishu: your questions answered
Is Mogadishu cleaner than Borama?
On air quality, yes, right now: Mogadishu reads AQI 32 against 35, a gap of 3 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Borama averaged AQI 41 against 44, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Borama and Mogadishu today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Borama reads AQI 35 and Mogadishu reads AQI 32.
Which has more trees, Borama or Mogadishu?
Mogadishu has more tree cover: 3.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.8% around Borama, or about 7,288 trees against 5,655. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Borama and Mogadishu need?
Borama needs about 88,593 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Mogadishu about 58,968 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Borama and Mogadishu 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 Borama vs Mogadishu 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 18, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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