Air quality comparison · Angola, 476 km apart
Calumbo vs Huambo Air quality index (AQI) today
Huambo has cleaner air than Calumbo right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 54 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Huambo averaged AQI 49 against 51, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Calumbo has lost more forest since 2001. Calumbo has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Calumbo54Huambo27
Head to head
Calumbo vs Huambo at a glance
Huambo is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Calumbo on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Calumbo | Huambo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 54 | 27 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.8 | 4.4 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 51 | 49 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 201 ha | 11 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 28.1% (better) | 12.1% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 5.8K (better) | 56.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Calumbo and Huambo right now?
Huambo has cleaner air than Calumbo right now: AQI 27 (Good) against 54 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
CalumboHuambo
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).
Calumbo: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Huambo: 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?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Huambo averaged AQI 49 against 51, 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
- Calumbo2Huambo3
- Average AQI
- Calumbo51Huambo49
- Worst day, AQI
- Calumbo60Huambo66
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Calumbo | Huambo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 53 | 66 |
| Nov 6 | 60 | 51 |
| Nov 7 | 54 | 35 |
| Nov 8 | 53 | 53 |
| Nov 9 | 48 | 44 |
| Nov 10 | 39 | 45 |
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 Calumbo and Huambo today?
Calumbo (AQI 54, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Huambo (AQI 27, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Calumbo
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Huambo
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Calumbo
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Huambo
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Calumbo
- Not needed for most people.
- Huambo
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Calumbo
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Huambo
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Calumbo and Huambo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Calumbo's air is cleaner than 55% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Huambo's is cleaner than 83%. Within Angola, that is 21% and 100% of its 35 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Calumbo
- Beats 55%
- Huambo
- Beats 83%
More tree cover than…
- Calumbo
- Beats 65%
- Huambo
- Beats 27%
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, Calumbo or Huambo?
Calumbo has lost more: about 201 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 11 ha around Huambo. 124 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: 2003, with 30 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with 2 ha lost.
| Calumbo | Huambo | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 201 ha | 11 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 124 ha | 10 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 (61%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (65%) |
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.
Calumbo
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Huambo
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Calumbo or Huambo?
Calumbo has more tree cover: 28.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.1% around Huambo, or about 85,807 trees against 38,013.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Calumbo | Huambo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 85.8K (better) | 38.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 5.8K (better) | 56.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.9M kg (better) | 836K 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
Calumbo vs Huambo: your questions answered
Is Huambo cleaner than Calumbo?
On air quality, yes, right now: Huambo reads AQI 27 against 54, a gap of 27 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Huambo averaged AQI 49 against 51, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Calumbo and Huambo today?
In Calumbo, at AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Huambo, at AQI 27: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Calumbo or Huambo?
Calumbo has lost more: about 201 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 11 ha around Huambo. 124 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Calumbo or Huambo?
Calumbo has more tree cover: 28.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.1% around Huambo, or about 85,807 trees against 38,013. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Calumbo and Huambo need?
Calumbo needs about 5,802 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Huambo about 56,235 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Calumbo and Huambo 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 Calumbo vs Huambo 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 1, 2026 and Oct 20, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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