Air quality comparison · South Africa, 501 km apart
Durban vs Johannesburg Air quality index (AQI) today
Johannesburg has cleaner air than Durban right now: AQI 69 (Moderate) against 87 (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, Durban averaged AQI 57 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Durban has lost more forest since 2001. Durban has more tree cover.
South Africa
AQI 87
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 28.5 µg/m³1.9× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 19:00 local
South Africa
AQI 69
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 18.5 µg/m³1.2× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 20:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Durban87Johannesburg69
Head to head
Durban vs Johannesburg at a glance
Durban and Johannesburg are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Durban | Johannesburg | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 87 | 69 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 28.5 | 18.5 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 57 (better) | 70 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 147 ha | 9 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 8.0% (better) | 4.2% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 41.5K (better) | 81.1K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Durban and Johannesburg right now?
Johannesburg has cleaner air than Durban right now: AQI 69 (Moderate) against 87 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Durban's PM2.5 is about 1.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Johannesburg's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
DurbanJohannesburg
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).
Durban: Ground station · City Hall - Durban-NAQI, 200 m away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · South Africa, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS).
Johannesburg: Ground station · Little John Park , 10.6 km away · median of 3 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, South Africa, Shift iT, Robin Kohl, South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Durban averaged AQI 57 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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
- Durban5Johannesburg1
- Average AQI
- Durban57Johannesburg70
- Worst day, AQI
- Durban67Johannesburg92
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Durban | Johannesburg |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 67 | 92 |
| Nov 6 | 55 | 68 |
| Nov 7 | 56 | 72 |
| Nov 8 | 50 | 57 |
| Nov 9 | 57 | 54 |
| Nov 10 | 54 | 78 |
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 Durban and Johannesburg 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 Durban and Johannesburg compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Durban's air is cleaner than 27% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Johannesburg's is cleaner than 38%. Within South Africa, that is 18% and 34% of its 66 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Durban
- Beats 27%
- Johannesburg
- Beats 38%
More tree cover than…
- Durban
- Beats 16%
- Johannesburg
- Beats 8%
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, Durban or Johannesburg?
Durban has lost more: about 147 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 9 ha around Johannesburg. 143 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: 2006, with 24 ha lost.
Worst year: 2019, with 2 ha lost.
| Durban | Johannesburg | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 147 ha | 9 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 143 ha | 7 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (94%) | Towns and roads (76%) |
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.
Durban
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Johannesburg
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Durban or Johannesburg?
Durban has more tree cover: 8.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.2% around Johannesburg, or about 15,080 trees against 13,195.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Durban | Johannesburg | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 15.1K (better) | 13.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 41.5K (better) | 81.1K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 332K kg (better) | 290K 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
Durban vs Johannesburg: your questions answered
Is Johannesburg cleaner than Durban?
On air quality, yes, right now: Johannesburg reads AQI 69 against 87, a gap of 18 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, Durban averaged AQI 57 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Durban and Johannesburg today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Durban reads AQI 87 and Johannesburg reads AQI 69.
Which has lost more forest, Durban or Johannesburg?
Durban has lost more: about 147 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 9 ha around Johannesburg. 143 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Durban or Johannesburg?
Durban has more tree cover: 8.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.2% around Johannesburg, or about 15,080 trees against 13,195. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Durban and Johannesburg need?
Durban needs about 41,469 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Johannesburg about 81,053 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Durban and Johannesburg 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 Durban vs Johannesburg 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 9, 2026 and Sep 14, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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