Air quality comparison · Bangladesh, 132 km apart
Dhaka vs Khulna Air quality index (AQI) today
Khulna has cleaner air than Dhaka right now: AQI 37 (Good) against 114 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Khulna averaged AQI 145 against 157, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Dhaka has lost more forest since 2001. Khulna has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Dhaka114Khulna37
Head to head
Dhaka vs Khulna at a glance
Khulna is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Dhaka on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Dhaka | Khulna | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 114 | 37 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 40.8 | 6.6 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 157 | 145 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 12 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 12.8% | 38.9% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 64.8K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Dhaka and Khulna right now?
Khulna has cleaner air than Dhaka right now: AQI 37 (Good) against 114 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Dhaka's PM2.5 is about 2.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
DhakaKhulna
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?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Khulna averaged AQI 145 against 157, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 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
- Dhaka2Khulna3
- Average AQI
- Dhaka157Khulna145
- Worst day, AQI
- Dhaka174Khulna168
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Dhaka | Khulna |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 146 | 150 |
| Nov 6 | 148 | 153 |
| Nov 7 | 168 | 168 |
| Nov 8 | 174 | 162 |
| Nov 9 | 159 | 147 |
| Nov 10 | 148 | 91 |
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 Dhaka and Khulna today?
Dhaka (AQI 114, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Khulna (AQI 37, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Dhaka
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Khulna
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Dhaka
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Khulna
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Dhaka
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Khulna
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Dhaka
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Khulna
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Dhaka and Khulna compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Dhaka's air is cleaner than 17% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Khulna's is cleaner than 72%. Within Bangladesh, that is 34% and 95% of its 45 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Dhaka
- Beats 17%
- Khulna
- Beats 72%
More tree cover than…
- Dhaka
- Beats 29%
- Khulna
- Beats 82%
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, Dhaka or Khulna?
Dhaka has lost more: about 12 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2 ha around Khulna. 6 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: 2011, with 3 ha lost.
Worst year: 2018, with under 1 ha lost.
| Dhaka | Khulna | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 12 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 6.8% | under 1% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 6 ha | 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (43%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (29%) |
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.
Dhaka
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Khulna
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Dhaka or Khulna?
Khulna has more tree cover: 38.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.8% around Dhaka, or about 108,887 trees against 37,357.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Dhaka | Khulna | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 37.4K | 109K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 64.8K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 822K kg | 2.4M 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
Dhaka vs Khulna: your questions answered
Is Khulna cleaner than Dhaka?
On air quality, yes, right now: Khulna reads AQI 37 against 114, a gap of 77 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Khulna averaged AQI 145 against 157, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Dhaka and Khulna today?
In Dhaka, at AQI 114: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Khulna, at AQI 37: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Dhaka or Khulna?
Dhaka has lost more: about 12 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2 ha around Khulna. 6 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Dhaka or Khulna?
Khulna has more tree cover: 38.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.8% around Dhaka, or about 108,887 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 Dhaka and Khulna need?
Dhaka needs about 64,792 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Khulna about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Dhaka and Khulna 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 Dhaka vs Khulna 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 (May 30, 2026 and Oct 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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