Air quality comparison · Sudan, 712 km apart
El Obeid vs Kassala Air quality index (AQI) today
Kassala has cleaner air than El Obeid right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 106 (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, Kassala averaged AQI 60 against 97, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Kassala has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
El Obeid106Kassala59
Head to head
El Obeid vs Kassala at a glance
Kassala is ahead on 5 of 5 measures, and El Obeid on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| El Obeid | Kassala | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 106 | 59 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 31.7 | 14.8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 97 | 60 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 3.9% | 13.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 97.7K | 50.9K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in El Obeid and Kassala right now?
Kassala has cleaner air than El Obeid right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 106 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
El Obeid's PM2.5 is about 2.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
El ObeidKassala
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).
El Obeid: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Kassala: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Kassala averaged AQI 60 against 97, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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
- El Obeid0Kassala6
- Average AQI
- El Obeid97Kassala60
- Worst day, AQI
- El Obeid120Kassala68
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | El Obeid | Kassala |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 72 | 59 |
| Nov 6 | 80 | 59 |
| Nov 7 | 116 | 58 |
| Nov 8 | 120 | 68 |
| Nov 9 | 100 | 58 |
| Nov 10 | 94 | 55 |
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 El Obeid and Kassala today?
El Obeid (AQI 106, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Kassala (AQI 59, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- El Obeid
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Kassala
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- El Obeid
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Kassala
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- El Obeid
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Kassala
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- El Obeid
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Kassala
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do El Obeid and Kassala compare with the rest of the world?
Right now El Obeid's air is cleaner than 20% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kassala's is cleaner than 49%. Within Sudan, that is 20% and 90% of its 21 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- El Obeid
- Beats 20%
- Kassala
- Beats 49%
More tree cover than…
- El Obeid
- Beats 8%
- Kassala
- Beats 31%
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.
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.
El Obeid
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Kassala
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, El Obeid or Kassala?
Kassala has more tree cover: 13.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 3.9% around El Obeid, or about 43,354 trees against 12,252.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| El Obeid | Kassala | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 12.3K | 43.4K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 97.7K | 50.9K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 270K kg | 954K 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
El Obeid vs Kassala: your questions answered
Is Kassala cleaner than El Obeid?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kassala reads AQI 59 against 106, a gap of 47 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, Kassala averaged AQI 60 against 97, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in El Obeid and Kassala today?
In El Obeid, at AQI 106: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Kassala, at AQI 59: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has more trees, El Obeid or Kassala?
Kassala has more tree cover: 13.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 3.9% around El Obeid, or about 43,354 trees against 12,252. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do El Obeid and Kassala need?
El Obeid needs about 97,704 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Kassala about 50,894 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are El Obeid and Kassala 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 El Obeid vs Kassala 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 16, 2026 and Sep 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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