Air quality comparison · Malaysia, 214 km apart
Ipoh vs Kota Bharu Air quality index (AQI) today
Kota Bharu has cleaner air than Ipoh right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 67 (Moderate).
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, Kota Bharu averaged AQI 23 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Ipoh has lost more forest since 2001. Ipoh has more tree cover.
Malaysia
AQI 67
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 17.8 µg/m³1.2× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 02:00 local
Malaysia
AQI 59
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 13.5 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 02:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Ipoh67Kota Bharu59
Head to head
Ipoh vs Kota Bharu at a glance
Kota Bharu is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Ipoh on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Ipoh | Kota Bharu | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 67 | 59 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 17.8 | 13.5 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 46 | 23 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 3,240 ha | 1,190 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 21.5% (better) | 20.1% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 26.7K (better) | 29.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Ipoh and Kota Bharu right now?
Kota Bharu has cleaner air than Ipoh right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 67 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Ipoh's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
IpohKota Bharu
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).
Ipoh: Ground station · S K Jalan Pegoh, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia, 3.4 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System.
Kota Bharu: Ground station · Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, 2.7 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, Kota Bharu averaged AQI 23 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 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
- Ipoh0Kota Bharu7
- Average AQI
- Ipoh46Kota Bharu23
- Worst day, AQI
- Ipoh54Kota Bharu27
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Ipoh | Kota Bharu |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 33 | 27 |
| Nov 6 | 52 | 25 |
| Nov 7 | 40 | 20 |
| Nov 8 | 52 | 19 |
| Nov 9 | 43 | 17 |
| Nov 10 | 47 | 25 |
| Nov 11 | 54 | 25 |
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 Ipoh and Kota Bharu today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Ipoh and Kota Bharu compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Ipoh's air is cleaner than 41% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kota Bharu's is cleaner than 48%. Within Malaysia, that is 40% and 45% of its 56 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Ipoh
- Beats 41%
- Kota Bharu
- Beats 48%
More tree cover than…
- Ipoh
- Beats 50%
- Kota Bharu
- Beats 47%
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, Ipoh or Kota Bharu?
Ipoh has lost more: about 3,240 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,190 ha around Kota Bharu. 2,830 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: 2018, with 361 ha lost.
Worst year: 2024, with 208 ha lost.
| Ipoh | Kota Bharu | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 3,240 ha | 1,190 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 26% | 12% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 2,830 ha | 1,190 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Speeding up |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (39%) | Towns and roads (62%) |
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.
Ipoh
2018: satellite photo from April 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
Kota Bharu
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km south of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Ipoh or Kota Bharu?
Ipoh has more tree cover: 21.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.1% around Kota Bharu, or about 67,544 trees against 59,547.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Ipoh | Kota Bharu | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 67.5K (better) | 59.5K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 26.7K (better) | 29.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.5M kg (better) | 1.3M 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
Ipoh vs Kota Bharu: your questions answered
Is Kota Bharu cleaner than Ipoh?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kota Bharu reads AQI 59 against 67, a gap of 8 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, Kota Bharu averaged AQI 23 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Ipoh and Kota Bharu today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Ipoh reads AQI 67 and Kota Bharu reads AQI 59.
Which has lost more forest, Ipoh or Kota Bharu?
Ipoh has lost more: about 3,240 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,190 ha around Kota Bharu. 2,830 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Ipoh or Kota Bharu?
Ipoh has more tree cover: 21.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.1% around Kota Bharu, or about 67,544 trees against 59,547. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Ipoh and Kota Bharu need?
Ipoh needs about 26,704 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kota Bharu about 29,329 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Ipoh and Kota Bharu 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 Ipoh vs Kota Bharu 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 (Jul 6, 2026 and Aug 27, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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