Air quality comparison · Ukraine, 245 km apart
Donetsk vs Kharkiv Air quality index (AQI) today
Kharkiv has cleaner air than Donetsk right now: AQI 55 (Moderate) against 78 (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, Kharkiv averaged AQI 39 against 74, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Kharkiv has lost more forest since 2001. Donetsk has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Donetsk78Kharkiv55
Head to head
Donetsk vs Kharkiv at a glance
Donetsk and Kharkiv are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Donetsk | Kharkiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 78 | 55 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 22.7 | 10.5 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 74 | 39 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 110 ha (better) | 171 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 51.1% (better) | 27.7% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 7.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Donetsk and Kharkiv right now?
Kharkiv has cleaner air than Donetsk right now: AQI 55 (Moderate) against 78 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Donetsk's PM2.5 is about 1.5× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
DonetskKharkiv
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).
Donetsk: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Kharkiv: 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, Kharkiv averaged AQI 39 against 74, 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
- Donetsk0Kharkiv7
- Average AQI
- Donetsk74Kharkiv39
- Worst day, AQI
- Donetsk110Kharkiv54
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Donetsk | Kharkiv |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 54 | 21 |
| Nov 6 | 62 | 27 |
| Nov 7 | 62 | 30 |
| Nov 8 | 68 | 39 |
| Nov 9 | 76 | 49 |
| Nov 10 | 110 | 52 |
| Nov 11 | 88 | 54 |
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 Donetsk and Kharkiv 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 Donetsk and Kharkiv compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Donetsk's air is cleaner than 32% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kharkiv's is cleaner than 54%. Within Ukraine, that is 10% and 37% of its 42 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Donetsk
- Beats 32%
- Kharkiv
- Beats 54%
More tree cover than…
- Donetsk
- Beats 93%
- Kharkiv
- Beats 64%
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, Donetsk or Kharkiv?
Kharkiv has lost more: about 171 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 110 ha around Donetsk. 123 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: 2025, with 31 ha lost.
Worst year: 2017, with 19 ha lost.
| Donetsk | Kharkiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 110 ha (better) | 171 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.5% | 2.4% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 69 ha (better) | 123 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (54%) | Towns and roads (71%) |
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.
Donetsk
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Kharkiv
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Donetsk or Kharkiv?
Donetsk has more tree cover: 51.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 27.7% around Kharkiv, or about 153,311 trees against 86,848.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Donetsk | Kharkiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 153K (better) | 86.8K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 7.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 3.4M kg (better) | 1.9M kg |
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
Donetsk vs Kharkiv: your questions answered
Is Kharkiv cleaner than Donetsk?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kharkiv reads AQI 55 against 78, a gap of 23 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, Kharkiv averaged AQI 39 against 74, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Donetsk and Kharkiv today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Donetsk reads AQI 78 and Kharkiv reads AQI 55.
Which has lost more forest, Donetsk or Kharkiv?
Kharkiv has lost more: about 171 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 110 ha around Donetsk. 123 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Donetsk or Kharkiv?
Donetsk has more tree cover: 51.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 27.7% around Kharkiv, or about 153,311 trees against 86,848. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Donetsk and Kharkiv need?
Donetsk needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kharkiv about 7,211 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Donetsk and Kharkiv 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 Donetsk vs Kharkiv 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 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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