Air quality comparison · Botswana, 421 km apart
Francistown vs Gaborone Air quality index (AQI) today
Francistown has cleaner air than Gaborone right now: AQI 36 (Good) against 37 (Good).
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, Francistown averaged AQI 37 against 50, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Francistown has more tree cover.
Botswana
AQI 36
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 6 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 22:00 local
Botswana
AQI 37
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 7.3 µg/m³
- 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.
Francistown36Gaborone37
Head to head
Francistown vs Gaborone at a glance
Francistown is ahead on 5 of 5 measures, and Gaborone on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Francistown | Gaborone | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 36 (better) | 37 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6 (better) | 7.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 37 (better) | 50 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 24.5% (better) | 21.4% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 17.3K (better) | 27.0K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Francistown and Gaborone right now?
Francistown has cleaner air than Gaborone right now: AQI 36 (Good) against 37 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
FrancistownGaborone
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).
Francistown: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Gaborone: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 250 km, e.g. Rustenburg and Soshanguve. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Francistown averaged AQI 37 against 50, 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
- Francistown5Gaborone1
- Average AQI
- Francistown37Gaborone50
- Worst day, AQI
- Francistown71Gaborone62
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Francistown | Gaborone |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 39 | 59 |
| Nov 5 | 28 | 58 |
| Nov 6 | 30 | 48 |
| Nov 7 | 45 | 62 |
| Nov 8 | 71 | 60 |
| Nov 9 | 15 | 34 |
| Nov 10 | 29 | 29 |
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 Francistown and Gaborone today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Francistown and Gaborone compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Francistown's air is cleaner than 73% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Gaborone's is cleaner than 73%. Within Botswana, that is 75% and 75% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Francistown
- Beats 73%
- Gaborone
- Beats 73%
More tree cover than…
- Francistown
- Beats 57%
- Gaborone
- Beats 50%
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.
Francistown
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Gaborone
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Francistown or Gaborone?
Francistown has more tree cover: 24.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 21.4% around Gaborone, or about 76,969 trees against 67,230.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Francistown | Gaborone | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 77.0K (better) | 67.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 17.3K (better) | 27.0K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.7M kg (better) | 1.5M 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
Francistown vs Gaborone: your questions answered
Is Francistown cleaner than Gaborone?
On air quality, yes, right now: Francistown reads AQI 36 against 37, a gap of 1 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, Francistown averaged AQI 37 against 50, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Francistown and Gaborone today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Francistown reads AQI 36 and Gaborone reads AQI 37.
Which has more trees, Francistown or Gaborone?
Francistown has more tree cover: 24.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 21.4% around Gaborone, or about 76,969 trees against 67,230. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Francistown and Gaborone need?
Francistown needs about 17,279 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Gaborone about 27,018 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Francistown and Gaborone 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 Francistown vs Gaborone 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 (Oct 25, 2026 and Oct 25, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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