Air quality comparison · Bangladesh, 211 km apart
Chattogram vs Dhaka Air quality index (AQI) today
Chattogram has cleaner air than Dhaka right now: AQI 41 (Good) against 135 (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, Chattogram averaged AQI 96 against 154, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Chattogram has lost more forest since 2001. Chattogram has more tree cover.
Bangladesh
AQI 41
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 7.2 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 19:00 local
Bangladesh
AQI 135
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 49.5 µg/m³3.3× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 22:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Chattogram41Dhaka135
Head to head
Chattogram vs Dhaka at a glance
Chattogram is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Dhaka on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Chattogram | Dhaka | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 41 (better) | 135 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 7.2 (better) | 49.5 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 96 (better) | 154 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 44 ha | 12 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 26.5% (better) | 12.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 10.1K (better) | 64.8K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Chattogram and Dhaka right now?
Chattogram has cleaner air than Dhaka right now: AQI 41 (Good) against 135 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Dhaka's PM2.5 is about 3.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Dhaka is read from a nearby ground station and Chattogram is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
ChattogramDhaka
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).
Chattogram: Estimate · model corrected with 9 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Sonargaon and Narayanganj. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 9 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
Dhaka: Ground station · Ahmedbagh, Sabujbagh | Dhaka | Smart Air Bangladesh, 3.9 km away · median of 5 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Smart Air Bangladesh.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Chattogram averaged AQI 96 against 154, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 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
- Chattogram7Dhaka0
- Average AQI
- Chattogram96Dhaka154
- Worst day, AQI
- Chattogram117Dhaka174
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Chattogram | Dhaka |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 108 | 132 |
| Nov 5 | 99 | 146 |
| Nov 6 | 98 | 148 |
| Nov 7 | 117 | 168 |
| Nov 8 | 104 | 174 |
| Nov 9 | 89 | 159 |
| Nov 10 | 57 | 148 |
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 Chattogram and Dhaka today?
Chattogram (AQI 41, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Dhaka (AQI 135, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Chattogram
- A good day to be active outside.
- Dhaka
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Chattogram
- Open them to air the house.
- Dhaka
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Chattogram
- Not needed.
- Dhaka
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Chattogram
- Not needed.
- Dhaka
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Chattogram and Dhaka compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Chattogram's air is cleaner than 69% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Dhaka's is cleaner than 13%. Within Bangladesh, that is 93% and 41% of its 45 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Chattogram
- Beats 69%
- Dhaka
- Beats 13%
More tree cover than…
- Chattogram
- Beats 61%
- Dhaka
- Beats 29%
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, Chattogram or Dhaka?
Chattogram has lost more: about 44 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 12 ha around Dhaka. 39 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: 2009, with 11 ha lost.
Worst year: 2011, with 3 ha lost.
| Chattogram | Dhaka | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 44 ha | 12 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 1.6% (better) | 6.8% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 39 ha | 6 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (70%) | Towns and roads (43%) |
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.
Chattogram
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Dhaka
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Chattogram or Dhaka?
Chattogram has more tree cover: 26.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.8% around Dhaka, or about 76,259 trees against 37,357.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Chattogram | Dhaka | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 76.3K (better) | 37.4K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 10.1K (better) | 64.8K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.7M kg (better) | 822K 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
Chattogram vs Dhaka: your questions answered
Is Chattogram cleaner than Dhaka?
On air quality, yes, right now: Chattogram reads AQI 41 against 135, a gap of 94 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, Chattogram averaged AQI 96 against 154, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Chattogram and Dhaka today?
In Chattogram, at AQI 41: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Dhaka, at AQI 135: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Chattogram or Dhaka?
Chattogram has lost more: about 44 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 12 ha around Dhaka. 39 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Chattogram or Dhaka?
Chattogram has more tree cover: 26.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.8% around Dhaka, or about 76,259 trees against 37,357. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Chattogram and Dhaka need?
Chattogram needs about 10,072 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Dhaka about 64,792 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Chattogram and Dhaka 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. Dhaka is read from a nearby ground station and Chattogram 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 Chattogram vs Dhaka 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 (Oct 12, 2026 and May 30, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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