Air quality comparison · Philippines, 978 km apart
Davao vs Manila Air quality index (AQI) today
Davao has cleaner air than Manila right now: AQI 6 (Good) against 54 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Davao averaged AQI 31 against 43, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Davao has lost more forest since 2001.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Davao6Manila54
Head to head
Davao vs Manila at a glance
Davao is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Manila on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Davao | Manila | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 6 (better) | 54 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 1 (better) | 10.9 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 31 (better) | 43 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 1,330 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 10.0% | 10.0% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 51.3K (better) | 60.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Davao and Manila right now?
Davao has cleaner air than Manila right now: AQI 6 (Good) against 54 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
DavaoManila
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 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Davao averaged AQI 31 against 43, 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
- Davao7Manila0
- Average AQI
- Davao31Manila43
- Worst day, AQI
- Davao44Manila55
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Davao | Manila |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 44 | 55 |
| Nov 6 | 42 | 53 |
| Nov 7 | 29 | 39 |
| Nov 8 | 20 | 38 |
| Nov 9 | 26 | 31 |
| Nov 10 | 30 | 45 |
| Nov 11 | 25 | 39 |
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 Davao and Manila today?
Davao (AQI 6, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Manila (AQI 54, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Davao
- A good day to be active outside.
- Manila
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Davao
- Open them to air the house.
- Manila
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Davao
- Not needed.
- Manila
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Davao
- Not needed.
- Manila
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Davao and Manila compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Davao's air is cleaner than 98% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Manila's is cleaner than 56%. Within Philippines, that is 87% and 32% of its 100 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Davao
- Beats 98%
- Manila
- Beats 56%
More tree cover than…
- Davao
- Beats 21%
- Manila
- Beats 21%
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, Davao or Manila?
Davao has lost more: about 1,330 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Manila. 1,320 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: 2010, with 205 ha lost.
Worst year: 2019, with 2 ha lost.
| Davao | Manila | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1,330 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 15% | 3.4% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1,320 ha | 4 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (62%) | Towns and roads (65%) |
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.
Davao
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
Manila
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Davao or Manila?
Both have the same tree cover: 10.0% of the land within 2 km of the center.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Davao | Manila | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 25.7K | 30.1K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 51.3K (better) | 60.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 565K kg | 662K 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
Davao vs Manila: your questions answered
Is Davao cleaner than Manila?
On air quality, yes, right now: Davao reads AQI 6 against 54, a gap of 48 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, Davao averaged AQI 31 against 43, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Davao and Manila today?
In Davao, at AQI 6: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Manila, at AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Davao or Manila?
Davao has lost more: about 1,330 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Manila. 1,320 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Davao or Manila?
Both have the same tree cover: 10.0% of the land within 2 km of the center. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Davao and Manila need?
Davao needs about 51,334 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Manila about 60,193 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Davao and Manila 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 Davao vs Manila 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 19, 2026 and Sep 13, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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