Air quality comparison · Iran, 79 km apart
Gonbad-e Kāvūs vs Gorgān Air quality index (AQI) today
Gonbad-e Kāvūs has cleaner air than Gorgān right now: AQI 20 (Good) against 23 (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, both averaged AQI 45. Gorgān has lost more forest since 2001. Gorgān has more tree cover.
Iran
AQI 20
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 3.4 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 12:30 local
Iran
AQI 23
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 4.6 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 14:30 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Gonbad-e Kāvūs20Gorgān23
Head to head
Gonbad-e Kāvūs vs Gorgān at a glance
Gonbad-e Kāvūs is ahead on 3 of 6 measures, and Gorgān on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Gonbad-e Kāvūs | Gorgān | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 20 (better) | 23 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 3.4 (better) | 4.6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 45 | 45 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 7 ha (better) | 41 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 3.3% | 10.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 83.9K | 62.5K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Gonbad-e Kāvūs and Gorgān right now?
Gonbad-e Kāvūs has cleaner air than Gorgān right now: AQI 20 (Good) against 23 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
Gonbad-e KāvūsGorgān
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).
Gonbad-e Kāvūs: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Gorgān: 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, both averaged AQI 45. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Gonbad-e Kāvūs3Gorgān4
- Average AQI
- Gonbad-e Kāvūs45Gorgān45
- Worst day, AQI
- Gonbad-e Kāvūs72Gorgān73
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Gonbad-e Kāvūs | Gorgān |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 52 | 66 |
| Nov 6 | 72 | 73 |
| Nov 7 | 61 | 60 |
| Nov 8 | 57 | 46 |
| Nov 9 | 16 | 17 |
| Nov 10 | 19 | 15 |
| Nov 11 | 39 | 35 |
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 Gonbad-e Kāvūs and Gorgān 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 Gonbad-e Kāvūs and Gorgān compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Gonbad-e Kāvūs's air is cleaner than 89% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Gorgān's is cleaner than 86%. Within Iran, that is 90% and 85% of its 97 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Gonbad-e Kāvūs
- Beats 89%
- Gorgān
- Beats 86%
More tree cover than…
- Gonbad-e Kāvūs
- Beats 7%
- Gorgān
- Beats 21%
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, Gonbad-e Kāvūs or Gorgān?
Gorgān has lost more: about 41 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Gonbad-e Kāvūs. 23 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: 2003, with 2 ha lost.
Worst year: 2003, with 8 ha lost.
| Gonbad-e Kāvūs | Gorgān | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 7 ha (better) | 41 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 6.3% | under 1% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1 ha (better) | 23 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (13%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (40%) |
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.
Gonbad-e Kāvūs
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Gorgān
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Gonbad-e Kāvūs or Gorgān?
Gorgān has more tree cover: 10.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 3.3% around Gonbad-e Kāvūs, or about 31,730 trees against 10,367.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Gonbad-e Kāvūs | Gorgān | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 10.4K | 31.7K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 83.9K | 62.5K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 228K kg | 698K 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
Gonbad-e Kāvūs vs Gorgān: your questions answered
Is Gonbad-e Kāvūs cleaner than Gorgān?
On air quality, yes, right now: Gonbad-e Kāvūs reads AQI 20 against 23, a gap of 3 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, both averaged AQI 45.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Gonbad-e Kāvūs and Gorgān today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Gonbad-e Kāvūs reads AQI 20 and Gorgān reads AQI 23.
Which has lost more forest, Gonbad-e Kāvūs or Gorgān?
Gorgān has lost more: about 41 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Gonbad-e Kāvūs. 23 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Gonbad-e Kāvūs or Gorgān?
Gorgān has more tree cover: 10.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 3.3% around Gonbad-e Kāvūs, or about 31,730 trees against 10,367. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Gonbad-e Kāvūs and Gorgān need?
Gonbad-e Kāvūs needs about 83,881 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Gorgān about 62,518 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Gonbad-e Kāvūs and Gorgān 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 Gonbad-e Kāvūs vs Gorgān 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 22, 2026 and Sep 22, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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