Air quality comparison · Saudi Arabia, 391 km apart
Dammam vs Riyadh Air quality index (AQI) today
Riyadh has cleaner air than Dammam right now: AQI 61 (Moderate) against 72 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Dammam averaged AQI 89 against 610, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Riyadh has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Dammam72Riyadh61
Head to head
Dammam vs Riyadh at a glance
Riyadh is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Dammam on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Dammam | Riyadh | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 72 | 61 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 20.6 | 14.6 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 89 (better) | 610 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.1% | 2.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 90.8K | 87.3K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Dammam and Riyadh right now?
Riyadh has cleaner air than Dammam right now: AQI 61 (Moderate) against 72 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Dammam's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
DammamRiyadh
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).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Dammam averaged AQI 89 against 610, 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
- Dammam6Riyadh0
- Average AQI
- Dammam89Riyadh610
- Worst day, AQI
- Dammam107Riyadh854
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Dammam | Riyadh |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 98 | 409 |
| Nov 6 | 73 | 637 |
| Nov 7 | 82 | 854 |
| Nov 8 | 107 | 397 |
| Nov 9 | 99 | 526 |
| Nov 10 | 76 | 838 |
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 Dammam and Riyadh 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 Dammam and Riyadh compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Dammam's air is cleaner than 36% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Riyadh's is cleaner than 46%. Within Saudi Arabia, that is 42% and 54% of its 27 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Dammam
- Beats 36%
- Riyadh
- Beats 46%
More tree cover than…
- Dammam
- Beats 2%
- Riyadh
- Beats 5%
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.
Dammam
2018: satellite photo from September 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Riyadh
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Dammam or Riyadh?
Riyadh has more tree cover: 2.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.1% around Dammam, or about 6,912 trees against 3,456.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Dammam | Riyadh | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 3.5K | 6.9K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 90.8K | 87.3K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 76.0K kg | 152K 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
Dammam vs Riyadh: your questions answered
Is Riyadh cleaner than Dammam?
On air quality, yes, right now: Riyadh reads AQI 61 against 72, a gap of 11 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, Dammam averaged AQI 89 against 610, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Dammam and Riyadh today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Dammam reads AQI 72 and Riyadh reads AQI 61.
Which has more trees, Dammam or Riyadh?
Riyadh has more tree cover: 2.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.1% around Dammam, or about 6,912 trees against 3,456. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Dammam and Riyadh need?
Dammam needs about 90,792 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Riyadh about 87,336 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Dammam and Riyadh 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 come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Dammam vs Riyadh 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 18, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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