Air quality comparison · Angola, 40 km apart
Calumbo vs Luanda Air quality index (AQI) today
Luanda has cleaner air than Calumbo right now: AQI 48 (Good) against 54 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Calumbo averaged AQI 51 against 60, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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.
Calumbo54Luanda48
Head to head
Calumbo vs Luanda at a glance
Calumbo and Luanda are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Calumbo | Luanda | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 54 | 48 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.8 | 10 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 51 (better) | 60 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 201 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 28.1% (better) | 7.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 5.8K (better) | 69.4K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Calumbo and Luanda right now?
Luanda has cleaner air than Calumbo right now: AQI 48 (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.
CalumboLuanda
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.
Luanda: 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, Calumbo averaged AQI 51 against 60, 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
- Calumbo6Luanda0
- Average AQI
- Calumbo51Luanda60
- Worst day, AQI
- Calumbo60Luanda65
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Calumbo | Luanda |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 53 | 61 |
| Nov 6 | 60 | 64 |
| Nov 7 | 54 | 65 |
| Nov 8 | 53 | 60 |
| Nov 9 | 48 | 61 |
| Nov 10 | 39 | 47 |
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 Luanda today?
Calumbo (AQI 54, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Luanda (AQI 48, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Calumbo
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Luanda
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Calumbo
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Luanda
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Calumbo
- Not needed for most people.
- Luanda
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Calumbo
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Luanda
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Calumbo and Luanda compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Calumbo's air is cleaner than 55% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Luanda's is cleaner than 63%. Within Angola, that is 21% and 59% of its 35 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Calumbo
- Beats 55%
- Luanda
- Beats 63%
More tree cover than…
- Calumbo
- Beats 65%
- Luanda
- Beats 16%
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 Luanda?
Calumbo has lost more: about 201 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Luanda. 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: 2012, with under 1 ha lost.
| Calumbo | Luanda | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 201 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 124 ha | under 1 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%) | Towns and roads (67%) |
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.
Luanda
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Calumbo or Luanda?
Calumbo has more tree cover: 28.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 7.9% around Luanda, or about 85,807 trees against 24,819.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Calumbo | Luanda | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 85.8K (better) | 24.8K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 5.8K (better) | 69.4K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.9M kg (better) | 546K 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 Luanda: your questions answered
Is Luanda cleaner than Calumbo?
On air quality, yes, right now: Luanda reads AQI 48 against 54, a gap of 6 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, Calumbo averaged AQI 51 against 60, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Calumbo and Luanda today?
In Calumbo, at AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Luanda, at AQI 48: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Calumbo or Luanda?
Calumbo has lost more: about 201 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Luanda. 124 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Calumbo or Luanda?
Calumbo has more tree cover: 28.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 7.9% around Luanda, or about 85,807 trees against 24,819. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Calumbo and Luanda need?
Calumbo needs about 5,802 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Luanda about 69,429 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 40 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 Calumbo and Luanda 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 Luanda 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 Sep 11, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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