Air quality comparison · Benin, 331 km apart
Cotonou vs Parakou Air quality index (AQI) today
Cotonou has cleaner air than Parakou right now: AQI 66 (Moderate) against 67 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Cotonou averaged AQI 50 against 63, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Parakou has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Cotonou66Parakou67
Head to head
Cotonou vs Parakou at a glance
Parakou is ahead on 3 of 5 measures, and Cotonou on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Cotonou | Parakou | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 66 (better) | 67 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 18 | 17.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 50 (better) | 63 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 4.3% | 19.3% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 80.7K | 33.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Cotonou and Parakou right now?
Cotonou has cleaner air than Parakou right now: AQI 66 (Moderate) against 67 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Cotonou's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Parakou's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
CotonouParakou
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).
Cotonou: Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 105 km, e.g. Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria and Ota. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index.
Parakou: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Cotonou averaged AQI 50 against 63, 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
- Cotonou7Parakou0
- Average AQI
- Cotonou50Parakou63
- Worst day, AQI
- Cotonou55Parakou68
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Cotonou | Parakou |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 45 | 64 |
| Nov 5 | 47 | 63 |
| Nov 6 | 52 | 61 |
| Nov 7 | 52 | 68 |
| Nov 8 | 54 | 67 |
| Nov 9 | 55 | 62 |
| Nov 10 | 45 | 59 |
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 Cotonou and Parakou today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Cotonou and Parakou compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Cotonou's air is cleaner than 41% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Parakou's is cleaner than 41%. Within Benin, that is 80% and 60% of its 6 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Cotonou
- Beats 41%
- Parakou
- Beats 41%
More tree cover than…
- Cotonou
- Beats 9%
- Parakou
- Beats 45%
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.
Cotonou
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Parakou
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Cotonou or Parakou?
Parakou has more tree cover: 19.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.3% around Cotonou, or about 60,633 trees against 13,509.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Cotonou | Parakou | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 13.5K | 60.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 80.7K | 33.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 297K kg | 1.3M kg (better) |
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
Cotonou vs Parakou: your questions answered
Is Cotonou cleaner than Parakou?
On air quality, yes, right now: Cotonou reads AQI 66 against 67, a gap of 1 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, Cotonou averaged AQI 50 against 63, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Cotonou and Parakou today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Cotonou reads AQI 66 and Parakou reads AQI 67.
Which has more trees, Cotonou or Parakou?
Parakou has more tree cover: 19.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.3% around Cotonou, or about 60,633 trees against 13,509. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Cotonou and Parakou need?
Cotonou needs about 80,739 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Parakou about 33,615 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Cotonou and Parakou 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 Cotonou vs Parakou 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 19, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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