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Air quality comparison · Malaysia, 30 km apart

Ijok vs Selayang Baru Utara Air quality index (AQI) today

Ijok has cleaner air than Selayang Baru Utara right now: AQI 54 (Moderate) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).

That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Ijok averaged AQI 86 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days. Ijok has lost more forest since 2001. Ijok has more tree cover.

Ijok

Malaysia

AQI 54

Moderate

Cleaner right now

PM2.5
10.6 µg/m³
Main pollutant
PM2.5
Source
Ground station
Reading
Nov 11, 23:00 local
Selayang Baru Utara

Malaysia

AQI 113

Unhealthy for sensitive groups

PM2.5
40.4 µg/m³2.7× WHO guideline
Main pollutant
PM2.5
Source
Ground station
Reading
Nov 11, 23:00 local

Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.

Ijok54Selayang Baru Utara113

Head to head

Ijok vs Selayang Baru Utara at a glance

Ijok is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Selayang Baru Utara on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.

Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara compared on air quality, forest loss and tree cover
IjokSelayang Baru Utara
Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better.54 (better)113
PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³.10.6 (better)40.4
Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days.86 (better)92
Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center.16,000 ha2,370 ha (better)
Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center.81.0% (better)29.1%
Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy.0 (better)18.5K

Air quality today

What is the air like in Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara right now?

Ijok has cleaner air than Selayang Baru Utara right now: AQI 54 (Moderate) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.

Selayang Baru Utara's PM2.5 is about 2.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.

Both readings come from nearby ground stations.

IjokSelayang Baru Utara

10.6PM2.5, µg/m³40.4
18.4PM10, µg/m³47.5

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).

Ijok: Ground station · Kuala Selangor, Selangor, Malaysia, 16 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System.

Selayang Baru Utara: Ground station · Batu Muda,Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia, 5 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System.

The past week

Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?

Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Ijok averaged AQI 86 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 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
Ijok2Selayang Baru Utara0
Average AQI
Ijok86Selayang Baru Utara92
Worst day, AQI
Ijok93Selayang Baru Utara114
IjokSelayang Baru Utara
50100Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9Nov 10Nov 11
The daily numbers (7 days)
Daily air quality index for Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara
DayIjokSelayang Baru Utara
Nov 59292
Nov 69090
Nov 78383
Nov 88787
Nov 98383
Nov 109394
Nov 1173114

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 Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara today?

Ijok (AQI 54, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Selayang Baru Utara (AQI 113, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

Exercise outdoors

Ijok
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Selayang Baru Utara
Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.

Windows

Ijok
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Selayang Baru Utara
Close them to keep the outside air out.

Masks

Ijok
Not needed for most people.
Selayang Baru Utara
Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.

Air purifier

Ijok
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Selayang Baru Utara
Run one, especially in bedrooms.

Against everywhere else

How do Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara compare with the rest of the world?

Right now Ijok's air is cleaner than 56% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Selayang Baru Utara's is cleaner than 17%. Within Malaysia, that is 56% and 0% of its 56 measured places.

Cleaner air than…

Ijok
Beats 56%
Selayang Baru Utara
Beats 17%

More tree cover than…

Ijok
Beats 100%
Selayang Baru Utara
Beats 67%

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, Ijok or Selayang Baru Utara?

Ijok has lost more: about 16,000 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,370 ha around Selayang Baru Utara. 15,900 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.

Ijok
20012025

Worst year: 2019, with 1,440 ha lost.

Selayang Baru Utara
20012025

Worst year: 2004, with 175 ha lost.

Forest loss around Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara, 2001 to 2025
IjokSelayang Baru Utara
Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged.16,000 ha2,370 ha (better)
Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000.64%13% (better)
Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns.15,900 ha2,200 ha (better)
Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before.Slowing downHolding steady
Main known causeFarms, pasture and plantations (85%)Towns and roads (57%)

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.

Ijok

Satellite image of the area around Ijok, March 2017

2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southeast of the city center.

Selayang Baru Utara

Satellite image of the area around Selayang Baru Utara, February 2017

2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.

Trees

Which has more trees, Ijok or Selayang Baru Utara?

Ijok has more tree cover: 81.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 29.1% around Selayang Baru Utara, or about 254,469 trees against 91,146.

Ijok81.0% of a 30% target
Selayang Baru Utara29.1% of a 35% target

The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.

Tree figures for Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara
IjokSelayang Baru Utara
Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area.254K (better)91.1K
Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better.0 (better)18.5K
CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing.5.6M kg (better)2.0M 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.

Ijok81.0% tree cover · Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, Sep 4, 2026
Selayang Baru Utara29.1% tree cover · Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, Aug 15, 2026

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

Ijok vs Selayang Baru Utara: your questions answered

Is Ijok cleaner than Selayang Baru Utara?

On air quality, yes, right now: Ijok reads AQI 54 against 113, a gap of 59 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, Ijok averaged AQI 86 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days.

Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara today?

In Ijok, at AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Selayang Baru Utara, at AQI 113: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

Which has lost more forest, Ijok or Selayang Baru Utara?

Ijok has lost more: about 16,000 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,370 ha around Selayang Baru Utara. 15,900 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.

Which has more trees, Ijok or Selayang Baru Utara?

Ijok has more tree cover: 81.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 29.1% around Selayang Baru Utara, or about 254,469 trees against 91,146. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.

How many more trees do Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara need?

Ijok needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Selayang Baru Utara about 18,480 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.

Why can two places 30 km apart read differently?

Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.

Are Ijok and Selayang Baru Utara 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 Ijok vs Selayang Baru Utara 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 4, 2026 and Aug 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.

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