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Airleaf

Chongjin vs Hyesan

Tree cover and air quality for both, measured the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius from each city centre, and the live US EPA air quality index. Same radius and same index, so the two numbers compare directly.

Hyesan has more tree cover — 42.4% against 25.3%.

Chongjin has cleaner air right now — AQI 33 against 39.

Tree cover gap
17.1 points
Hyesan is ahead.
Air quality gap
6 AQI
Chongjin is cleaner.
Trees between them
53.5K
Hyesan has more standing.
Chongjin

North Korea

Hyesan

North Korea

Tree cover

Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.

25.3%

42.4%

Air quality index

US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.

33 · Good

39 · Good

Trees standing

Estimated from the measured canopy area.

77.7K

131K

Trees still needed

To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.

14.4K

0

CO₂ absorbed each year

By the trees already standing.

1.7M kg

2.9M kg

Air quality in detail

What each city is breathing

Concentrations in µg/m³, measured at the same moment as the index above. Lower is better in every row. Both are modelled, with no ground station close enough to either.

PM2.5

Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.

0.8 µg/m³

1.7 µg/m³

PM10

Coarser particles — dust, pollen, road grit.

1.2 µg/m³

2.4 µg/m³

Nitrogen dioxide

Mostly traffic and combustion.

0.9 µg/m³

0.6 µg/m³

Ozone

Forms in sunlight; peaks on hot, still afternoons.

84 µg/m³

89 µg/m³

The last week, day by day

A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon. The week says whether it was the weather or the place.

ChongjinHyesan· daily US EPA index, last 7 days
0387522 Sept25 Sept28 Sept
Daily air quality index for Chongjin and Hyesan
DayChongjinHyesan
22 Sept2832
23 Sept3140
24 Sept4156
25 Sept3741
26 Sept3652
27 Sept4142
28 Sept3437

Reading these numbers

What is actually being measured

Tree cover

The share of ground under canopy inside a 2 km radius of each city centre, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It is a measurement of that circle, not of the whole municipality — which is exactly what makes the two comparable, since city boundaries are drawn to wildly different rules around the world. Hyesan leads here at 42.4%.

Air quality index

The live US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations — ground stations where a city has them nearby, and a model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so this is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place: Chongjin reads 33 (good) and Hyesan reads 39 (good) right now.

Frequently asked

Chongjin and Hyesan, answered

Which has more trees, Chongjin or Hyesan?

Hyesan, with roughly 131,205 trees inside its 2 km radius against 77,734. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Hyesan has the denser canopy at 42.4%.

Which has better air quality, Chongjin or Hyesan?

Chongjin right now, at AQI 33 against 39 — a gap of 6 points. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day.

How many more trees does each city need?

Chongjin needs about 14,441 more to reach its canopy target, and Hyesan about 0. The target is the same share of ground for both, so the figures are directly comparable.

Are these two measured the same way?

Yes — that is the point of the page. Identical radius, identical satellite source at 10 m detail, and the same US EPA index for air. Nothing here is adjusted for population, city limits or climate, so the numbers describe the same-sized circle of ground in each place.

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