Air quality comparison · Philippines, 351 km apart
Budta vs Cebu City Air quality index (AQI) today
Budta has cleaner air than Cebu City right now: AQI 15 (Good) against 18 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Cebu City averaged AQI 22 against 34, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Budta has lost more forest since 2001. Budta has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Budta15Cebu City18
Head to head
Budta vs Cebu City at a glance
Budta is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Cebu City on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Budta | Cebu City | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 15 (better) | 18 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 2.8 (better) | 3.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 34 | 22 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 539 ha | 452 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 70.8% (better) | 24.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 16.0K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Budta and Cebu City right now?
Budta has cleaner air than Cebu City right now: AQI 15 (Good) against 18 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Cebu City is read from a nearby ground station and Budta is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
BudtaCebu City
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).
Budta: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Cebu City: Ground station · Lapu-Lapu City, 9.7 km away. Data: OpenAQ · Clarity.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Cebu City averaged AQI 22 against 34, 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
- Budta1Cebu City6
- Average AQI
- Budta34Cebu City22
- Worst day, AQI
- Budta43Cebu City35
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Budta | Cebu City |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 43 | 16 |
| Nov 6 | 38 | 19 |
| Nov 7 | 29 | 20 |
| Nov 8 | 28 | 23 |
| Nov 9 | 32 | 35 |
| Nov 10 | 40 | 29 |
| Nov 11 | 29 | 14 |
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 Budta and Cebu City 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 Budta and Cebu City compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Budta's air is cleaner than 93% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Cebu City's is cleaner than 90%. Within Philippines, that is 90% and 80% of its 100 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Budta
- Beats 93%
- Cebu City
- Beats 90%
More tree cover than…
- Budta
- Beats 99%
- Cebu City
- Beats 57%
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, Budta or Cebu City?
Budta has lost more: about 539 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 452 ha around Cebu City. 471 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: 2010, with 75 ha lost.
Worst year: 2009, with 102 ha lost.
| Budta | Cebu City | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 539 ha | 452 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 4.7% (better) | 5.6% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 471 ha | 412 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (87%) | Towns and roads (51%) |
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.
Budta
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km south of the city center.
Cebu City
2019: satellite photo from April 2019 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Budta or Cebu City?
Budta has more tree cover: 70.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 24.9% around Cebu City, or about 222,202 trees against 78,226.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Budta | Cebu City | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 222K (better) | 78.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 16.0K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 4.9M kg (better) | 1.7M 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
Budta vs Cebu City: your questions answered
Is Budta cleaner than Cebu City?
On air quality, yes, right now: Budta reads AQI 15 against 18, 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Cebu City averaged AQI 22 against 34, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Budta and Cebu City today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Budta reads AQI 15 and Cebu City reads AQI 18.
Which has lost more forest, Budta or Cebu City?
Budta has lost more: about 539 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 452 ha around Cebu City. 471 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Budta or Cebu City?
Budta has more tree cover: 70.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 24.9% around Cebu City, or about 222,202 trees against 78,226. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Budta and Cebu City need?
Budta needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Cebu City about 16,022 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Budta and Cebu City 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. Cebu City is read from a nearby ground station and Budta is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Budta vs Cebu City 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 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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