Air quality comparison · Malaysia, 174 km apart
Ipoh vs Kuala Lumpur Air quality index (AQI) today
Ipoh has cleaner air than Kuala Lumpur right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 73 (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, Ipoh averaged AQI 46 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Ipoh has lost more forest since 2001. Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover.
Malaysia
AQI 59
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 13.4 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 01:00 local
Malaysia
AQI 73
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 20.7 µg/m³1.4× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 01:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Ipoh59Kuala Lumpur73
Head to head
Ipoh vs Kuala Lumpur at a glance
Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Ipoh | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 59 (better) | 73 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 13.4 (better) | 20.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 46 (better) | 92 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 3,240 ha | 1,250 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 21.5% | 44.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 26.7K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur right now?
Ipoh has cleaner air than Kuala Lumpur right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 73 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kuala Lumpur's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
IpohKuala Lumpur
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.
Kuala Lumpur: Ground station · Kuala Lumpur, 200 m away · median of 3 stations. 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, Ipoh averaged AQI 46 against 92, 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
- Ipoh7Kuala Lumpur0
- Average AQI
- Ipoh46Kuala Lumpur92
- Worst day, AQI
- Ipoh54Kuala Lumpur114
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Ipoh | Kuala Lumpur |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 33 | 92 |
| Nov 6 | 52 | 90 |
| Nov 7 | 40 | 83 |
| Nov 8 | 52 | 87 |
| Nov 9 | 43 | 83 |
| Nov 10 | 47 | 94 |
| Nov 11 | 54 | 114 |
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 Kuala Lumpur 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 Kuala Lumpur compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Ipoh's air is cleaner than 48% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kuala Lumpur's is cleaner than 36%. Within Malaysia, that is 44% and 22% of its 56 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Ipoh
- Beats 48%
- Kuala Lumpur
- Beats 36%
More tree cover than…
- Ipoh
- Beats 50%
- Kuala Lumpur
- Beats 88%
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 Kuala Lumpur?
Ipoh has lost more: about 3,240 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,250 ha around Kuala Lumpur. 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: 2004, with 165 ha lost.
| Ipoh | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 3,240 ha | 1,250 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 26% | 25% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 2,830 ha | 1,250 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (39%) | Towns and roads (99%) |
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.
Kuala Lumpur
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Ipoh or Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover: 44.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 21.5% around Ipoh, or about 137,748 trees against 67,544.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Ipoh | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 67.5K | 138K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 26.7K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.5M kg | 3.0M 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
Ipoh vs Kuala Lumpur: your questions answered
Is Ipoh cleaner than Kuala Lumpur?
On air quality, yes, right now: Ipoh reads AQI 59 against 73, a gap of 14 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, Ipoh averaged AQI 46 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Ipoh reads AQI 59 and Kuala Lumpur reads AQI 73.
Which has lost more forest, Ipoh or Kuala Lumpur?
Ipoh has lost more: about 3,240 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,250 ha around Kuala Lumpur. 2,830 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Ipoh or Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover: 44.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 21.5% around Ipoh, or about 137,748 trees against 67,544. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur need?
Ipoh needs about 26,704 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kuala Lumpur about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur 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 Kuala Lumpur 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 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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