Air quality comparison · Egypt, 123 km apart
Cairo vs Suez Air quality index (AQI) today
Suez has cleaner air than Cairo right now: AQI 87 (Moderate) against 174 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Suez averaged AQI 52 against 64, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Cairo has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Cairo174Suez87
Head to head
Cairo vs Suez at a glance
Suez is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Cairo on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Cairo | Suez | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 174 | 87 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 97.7 | 24 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 64 | 52 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.3% (better) | 0.2% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 122K | 93.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Cairo and Suez right now?
Suez has cleaner air than Cairo right now: AQI 87 (Moderate) against 174 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Cairo's PM2.5 is about 6.5× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Suez's PM2.5 is about 1.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
CairoSuez
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).
Cairo: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 45 km, e.g. New Cairo 1 and Obour. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 45 km, US EPA index.
Suez: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 105 km, e.g. 10th of Ramadan City 1 and New Cairo 1. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Suez averaged AQI 52 against 64, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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
- Cairo1Suez4
- Average AQI
- Cairo64Suez52
- Worst day, AQI
- Cairo83Suez60
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Cairo | Suez |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 83 | 55 |
| Nov 6 | 63 | 52 |
| Nov 7 | 54 | 54 |
| Nov 8 | 59 | 60 |
| Nov 9 | 65 | 50 |
| Nov 10 | 53 | 53 |
| Nov 11 | 69 | 43 |
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 Cairo and Suez today?
Cairo (AQI 174, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Suez (AQI 87, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Cairo
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
- Suez
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Cairo
- Keep them closed.
- Suez
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Cairo
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
- Suez
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Cairo
- Run one.
- Suez
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Cairo and Suez compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Cairo's air is cleaner than 6% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Suez's is cleaner than 26%. Within Egypt, that is 27% and 61% of its 65 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Cairo
- Beats 6%
- Suez
- Beats 26%
More tree cover than…
- Cairo
- Beats 3%
- Suez
- Beats 0%
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.
Cairo
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Suez
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Cairo or Suez?
Cairo has more tree cover: 1.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.2% around Suez, or about 4,084 trees against 628.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Cairo | Suez | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 4.1K (better) | 628 |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 122K | 93.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 89.8K kg (better) | 13.8K 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
Cairo vs Suez: your questions answered
Is Suez cleaner than Cairo?
On air quality, yes, right now: Suez reads AQI 87 against 174, a gap of 87 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, Suez averaged AQI 52 against 64, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Cairo and Suez today?
In Cairo, at AQI 174: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. In Suez, at AQI 87: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has more trees, Cairo or Suez?
Cairo has more tree cover: 1.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.2% around Suez, or about 4,084 trees against 628. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Cairo and Suez need?
Cairo needs about 121,580 more to reach its canopy target of 40%, and Suez about 93,619 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Cairo and Suez 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 Cairo vs Suez 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 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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