Air quality comparison · Ethiopia, 239 km apart
Gonder vs Mek'ele Air quality index (AQI) today
Gonder has cleaner air than Mek'ele right now: AQI 49 (Good) against 60 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Mek'ele averaged AQI 52 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Gonder has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Gonder49Mek'ele60
Head to head
Gonder vs Mek'ele at a glance
Gonder is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Mek'ele on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Gonder | Mek'ele | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 49 (better) | 60 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 7.9 (better) | 13 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 57 | 52 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 19.9% (better) | 17.5% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 31.7K (better) | 39.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Gonder and Mek'ele right now?
Gonder has cleaner air than Mek'ele right now: AQI 49 (Good) against 60 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
GonderMek'ele
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).
Gonder: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Mek'ele: 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?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Mek'ele averaged AQI 52 against 57, 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
- Gonder1Mek'ele6
- Average AQI
- Gonder57Mek'ele52
- Worst day, AQI
- Gonder63Mek'ele61
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Gonder | Mek'ele |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 59 | 58 |
| Nov 6 | 59 | 50 |
| Nov 7 | 63 | 44 |
| Nov 8 | 62 | 52 |
| Nov 9 | 62 | 49 |
| Nov 10 | 52 | 47 |
| Nov 11 | 39 | 61 |
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 Gonder and Mek'ele today?
Gonder (AQI 49, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Mek'ele (AQI 60, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Gonder
- A good day to be active outside.
- Mek'ele
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Gonder
- Open them to air the house.
- Mek'ele
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Gonder
- Not needed.
- Mek'ele
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Gonder
- Not needed.
- Mek'ele
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Gonder and Mek'ele compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Gonder's air is cleaner than 63% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Mek'ele's is cleaner than 48%. Within Ethiopia, that is 66% and 38% of its 30 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Gonder
- Beats 63%
- Mek'ele
- Beats 48%
More tree cover than…
- Gonder
- Beats 47%
- Mek'ele
- Beats 40%
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.
Gonder
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Mek'ele
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Gonder or Mek'ele?
Gonder has more tree cover: 19.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.5% around Mek'ele, or about 62,518 trees against 54,978.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Gonder | Mek'ele | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 62.5K (better) | 55.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 31.7K (better) | 39.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.4M kg (better) | 1.2M 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
Gonder vs Mek'ele: your questions answered
Is Gonder cleaner than Mek'ele?
On air quality, yes, right now: Gonder reads AQI 49 against 60, a gap of 11 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Mek'ele averaged AQI 52 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Gonder and Mek'ele today?
In Gonder, at AQI 49: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Mek'ele, at AQI 60: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has more trees, Gonder or Mek'ele?
Gonder has more tree cover: 19.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.5% around Mek'ele, or about 62,518 trees against 54,978. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Gonder and Mek'ele need?
Gonder needs about 31,730 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Mek'ele about 39,270 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Gonder and Mek'ele 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 Gonder vs Mek'ele 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 14, 2026 and Sep 9, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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