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Air quality comparison · Malaysia, 23 km apart

Bukit Jalil vs Selayang Baru Utara Air quality index (AQI) today

Bukit Jalil has cleaner air than Selayang Baru Utara right now: AQI 83 (Moderate) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).

That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Bukit Jalil averaged AQI 86 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days. Selayang Baru Utara has lost more forest since 2001. Bukit Jalil has more tree cover.

Bukit Jalil

Malaysia

AQI 83

Moderate

Cleaner right now

PM2.5
26.3 µg/m³1.8× WHO guideline
Main pollutant
PM2.5
Source
Ground station
Reading
Nov 12, 00:00 local
Selayang Baru Utara

Malaysia

AQI 113

Unhealthy for sensitive groups

PM2.5
40.4 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.

Bukit Jalil83Selayang Baru Utara113

Head to head

Bukit Jalil vs Selayang Baru Utara at a glance

Bukit Jalil is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Selayang Baru Utara on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.

Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara compared on air quality, forest loss and tree cover
Bukit JalilSelayang Baru Utara
Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better.83 (better)113
PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³.26.3 (better)40.4
Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days.86 (better)92
Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center.2,260 ha (better)2,370 ha
Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center.29.4% (better)29.1%
Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy.1.9K (better)18.5K
Bukit Jalil air quality reportThe live map, every pollutant and the past weekSelayang Baru Utara air quality reportThe live map, every pollutant and the past week

Air quality today

What is the air like in Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara right now?

Bukit Jalil has cleaner air than Selayang Baru Utara right now: AQI 83 (Moderate) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.

Bukit Jalil's PM2.5 is about 1.8× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Selayang Baru Utara's PM2.5 is about 2.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.

Both readings come from nearby ground stations.

Bukit JalilSelayang Baru Utara

26.3PM2.5, µg/m³40.4

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).

Bukit Jalil: Ground station · ENVIRO EXCELTECH SDN BHD, 4.9 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, ENVIRO EXCELTECH SDN BHD.

Selayang Baru Utara: Ground station · Batu Muda,Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia, 5 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System.

The past week

Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?

Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Bukit Jalil averaged AQI 86 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 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
Bukit Jalil2Selayang Baru Utara0
Average AQI
Bukit Jalil86Selayang Baru Utara92
Worst day, AQI
Bukit Jalil93Selayang Baru Utara114
Bukit JalilSelayang Baru Utara
50100Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9Nov 10Nov 11
The daily numbers (7 days)
Daily air quality index for Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara
DayBukit JalilSelayang Baru Utara
Nov 59292
Nov 69090
Nov 78383
Nov 88787
Nov 98383
Nov 109394
Nov 1172114

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 Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara today?

Bukit Jalil (AQI 83, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Selayang Baru Utara (AQI 113, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

Exercise outdoors

Bukit Jalil
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Selayang Baru Utara
Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.

Windows

Bukit Jalil
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Selayang Baru Utara
Close them to keep the outside air out.

Masks

Bukit Jalil
Not needed for most people.
Selayang Baru Utara
Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.

Air purifier

Bukit Jalil
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Selayang Baru Utara
Run one, especially in bedrooms.

Against everywhere else

How do Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara compare with the rest of the world?

Right now Bukit Jalil's air is cleaner than 29% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Selayang Baru Utara's is cleaner than 18%. Within Malaysia, that is 7% and 0% of its 56 measured places.

Cleaner air than…

Bukit Jalil
Beats 29%
Selayang Baru Utara
Beats 18%

More tree cover than…

Bukit Jalil
Beats 67%
Selayang Baru Utara
Beats 67%

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, Bukit Jalil or Selayang Baru Utara?

Selayang Baru Utara has lost more: about 2,370 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,260 ha around Bukit Jalil. 2,200 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.

Bukit Jalil
20012025

Worst year: 2004, with 417 ha lost.

Selayang Baru Utara
20012025

Worst year: 2004, with 175 ha lost.

Forest loss around Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara, 2001 to 2025
Bukit JalilSelayang Baru Utara
Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged.2,260 ha (better)2,370 ha
Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000.36%13% (better)
Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns.2,260 ha2,200 ha (better)
Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before.Slowing downHolding steady
Main known causeTowns and roads (99%)Towns and roads (57%)
Deforestation around Bukit Jalil, year by yearDeforestation around Selayang Baru Utara, year by year

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.

Bukit Jalil

Satellite image of the area around Bukit Jalil, March 2017

2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 1 km southwest of the city center.

Selayang Baru Utara

Satellite image of the area around Selayang Baru Utara, February 2017

2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.

Trees

Which has more trees, Bukit Jalil or Selayang Baru Utara?

Bukit Jalil has more tree cover: 29.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 29.1% around Selayang Baru Utara, or about 92,178 trees against 91,146.

Bukit Jalil29.4% of a 30% target
Selayang Baru Utara29.1% of a 35% target

The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.

Tree figures for Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara
Bukit JalilSelayang Baru Utara
Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area.92.2K (better)91.1K
Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better.1.9K (better)18.5K
CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing.2.0M kg (better)2.0M 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.

Bukit Jalil29.4% tree cover · Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, Sep 4, 2026
Selayang Baru Utara29.1% tree cover · Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, Aug 15, 2026

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

Bukit Jalil vs Selayang Baru Utara: your questions answered

Is Bukit Jalil cleaner than Selayang Baru Utara?

On air quality, yes, right now: Bukit Jalil reads AQI 83 against 113, a gap of 30 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, Bukit Jalil averaged AQI 86 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days.

Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara today?

In Bukit Jalil, at AQI 83: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Selayang Baru Utara, at AQI 113: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

Which has lost more forest, Bukit Jalil or Selayang Baru Utara?

Selayang Baru Utara has lost more: about 2,370 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,260 ha around Bukit Jalil. 2,200 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.

Which has more trees, Bukit Jalil or Selayang Baru Utara?

Bukit Jalil has more tree cover: 29.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 29.1% around Selayang Baru Utara, or about 92,178 trees against 91,146. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.

How many more trees do Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara need?

Bukit Jalil needs about 1,881 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Selayang Baru Utara about 18,480 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.

Why can two places 23 km apart read differently?

Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.

Are Bukit Jalil and Selayang Baru Utara 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 Bukit Jalil vs Selayang Baru Utara 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 4, 2026 and Aug 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.

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