Air quality comparison · Bangladesh, 255 km apart
Dhaka vs Rangpur Air quality index (AQI) today
Dhaka has cleaner air than Rangpur right now: AQI 135 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 162 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Rangpur averaged AQI 141 against 154, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days. Dhaka has lost more forest since 2001. Rangpur has more tree cover.
Bangladesh
AQI 135
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 49.5 µg/m³3.3× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 22:00 local
Bangladesh
AQI 162
Unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 80.4 µg/m³5.4× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 22:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Dhaka135Rangpur162
Head to head
Dhaka vs Rangpur at a glance
Rangpur is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Dhaka on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Dhaka | Rangpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 135 (better) | 162 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 49.5 (better) | 80.4 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 154 | 141 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 12 ha | 6 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 12.8% | 59.6% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 64.8K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Dhaka and Rangpur right now?
Dhaka has cleaner air than Rangpur right now: AQI 135 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 162 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Dhaka's PM2.5 is about 3.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Rangpur's PM2.5 is about 5.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Dhaka is read from a nearby ground station and Rangpur is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
DhakaRangpur
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).
Dhaka: Ground station · Ahmedbagh, Sabujbagh | Dhaka | Smart Air Bangladesh, 3.9 km away · median of 5 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Smart Air Bangladesh.
Rangpur: Estimate · model corrected with 6 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Jalpaiguri Division and Phuentsholing. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 6 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Rangpur averaged AQI 141 against 154, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 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
- Dhaka5Rangpur2
- Average AQI
- Dhaka154Rangpur141
- Worst day, AQI
- Dhaka174Rangpur173
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Dhaka | Rangpur |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 132 | 138 |
| Nov 5 | 146 | 156 |
| Nov 6 | 148 | 172 |
| Nov 7 | 168 | 173 |
| Nov 8 | 174 | 112 |
| Nov 9 | 159 | 90 |
| Nov 10 | 148 | 149 |
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 Rangpur today?
Dhaka (AQI 135, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Rangpur (AQI 162, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Exercise outdoors
- Dhaka
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Rangpur
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
Windows
- Dhaka
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Rangpur
- Keep them closed.
Masks
- Dhaka
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Rangpur
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Dhaka
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Rangpur
- Run one.
Against everywhere else
How do Dhaka and Rangpur compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Dhaka's air is cleaner than 13% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Rangpur's is cleaner than 8%. Within Bangladesh, that is 41% and 11% of its 45 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Dhaka
- Beats 13%
- Rangpur
- Beats 8%
More tree cover than…
- Dhaka
- Beats 29%
- Rangpur
- Beats 96%
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 Rangpur?
Dhaka has lost more: about 12 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 6 ha around Rangpur. 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: 2007, with 1 ha lost.
| Dhaka | Rangpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 12 ha | 6 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 6.8% | 1.9% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 6 ha | 2 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%) | Towns and roads (37%) |
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.
Rangpur
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Dhaka or Rangpur?
Rangpur has more tree cover: 59.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.8% around Dhaka, or about 185,554 trees against 37,357.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Dhaka | Rangpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 37.4K | 186K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 64.8K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 822K kg | 4.1M 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 Rangpur: your questions answered
Is Dhaka cleaner than Rangpur?
On air quality, yes, right now: Dhaka reads AQI 135 against 162, a gap of 27 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Rangpur averaged AQI 141 against 154, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Dhaka and Rangpur today?
In Dhaka, at AQI 135: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Rangpur, at AQI 162: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Which has lost more forest, Dhaka or Rangpur?
Dhaka has lost more: about 12 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 6 ha around Rangpur. 6 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Dhaka or Rangpur?
Rangpur has more tree cover: 59.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.8% around Dhaka, or about 185,554 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 Rangpur need?
Dhaka needs about 64,792 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Rangpur about 0 to reach 40%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Dhaka and Rangpur 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. Dhaka is read from a nearby ground station and Rangpur is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Dhaka vs Rangpur 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 20, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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