Air quality comparison · Indonesia, 662 km apart
Jakarta vs Surabaya Air quality index (AQI) today
Surabaya has cleaner air than Jakarta right now: AQI 87 (Moderate) against 108 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Surabaya averaged AQI 114 against 173, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Surabaya has lost more forest since 2001. Jakarta has more tree cover.
Indonesia
AQI 108
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 38.3 µg/m³2.6× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 23:00 local
Indonesia
AQI 87
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 24.6 µg/m³1.6× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 11:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Jakarta108Surabaya87
Head to head
Jakarta vs Surabaya at a glance
Jakarta and Surabaya are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Jakarta | Surabaya | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 108 | 87 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 38.3 | 24.6 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 173 | 114 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 7 ha (better) | 26 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 17.8% (better) | 10.6% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 53.8K (better) | 60.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Jakarta and Surabaya right now?
Surabaya has cleaner air than Jakarta right now: AQI 87 (Moderate) against 108 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Jakarta's PM2.5 is about 2.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Surabaya's PM2.5 is about 1.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Jakarta is read from a nearby ground station and Surabaya is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
JakartaSurabaya
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).
Jakarta: Ground station · Kemayoran, Indonesia, 6.6 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, BMKG | Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika.
Surabaya: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Surabaya averaged AQI 114 against 173, 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
- Jakarta0Surabaya6
- Average AQI
- Jakarta173Surabaya114
- Worst day, AQI
- Jakarta187Surabaya137
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Jakarta | Surabaya |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 157 | 103 |
| Nov 6 | 172 | 116 |
| Nov 7 | 166 | 107 |
| Nov 8 | 181 | 105 |
| Nov 9 | 176 | 137 |
| Nov 10 | 187 | 113 |
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 Jakarta and Surabaya today?
Jakarta (AQI 108, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Surabaya (AQI 87, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Jakarta
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Surabaya
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Jakarta
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Surabaya
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Jakarta
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Surabaya
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Jakarta
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Surabaya
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Jakarta and Surabaya compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Jakarta's air is cleaner than 19% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Surabaya's is cleaner than 27%. Within Indonesia, that is 16% and 29% of its 156 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Jakarta
- Beats 19%
- Surabaya
- Beats 27%
More tree cover than…
- Jakarta
- Beats 41%
- Surabaya
- Beats 23%
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, Jakarta or Surabaya?
Surabaya has lost more: about 26 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Jakarta. 13 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: 2006, with 3 ha lost.
Worst year: 2011, with 3 ha lost.
| Jakarta | Surabaya | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 7 ha (better) | 26 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.9% | 2.8% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 5 ha (better) | 13 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (44%) | Towns and roads (41%) |
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.
Jakarta
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Surabaya
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Jakarta or Surabaya?
Jakarta has more tree cover: 17.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.6% around Surabaya, or about 55,697 trees against 33,134.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Jakarta | Surabaya | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 55.7K (better) | 33.1K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 53.8K (better) | 60.6K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg (better) | 729K 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
Jakarta vs Surabaya: your questions answered
Is Surabaya cleaner than Jakarta?
On air quality, yes, right now: Surabaya reads AQI 87 against 108, a gap of 21 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Surabaya averaged AQI 114 against 173, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Jakarta and Surabaya today?
In Jakarta, at AQI 108: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Surabaya, at AQI 87: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Jakarta or Surabaya?
Surabaya has lost more: about 26 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Jakarta. 13 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Jakarta or Surabaya?
Jakarta has more tree cover: 17.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.6% around Surabaya, or about 55,697 trees against 33,134. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Jakarta and Surabaya need?
Jakarta needs about 53,819 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Surabaya about 60,642 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Jakarta and Surabaya 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. Jakarta is read from a nearby ground station and Surabaya is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Jakarta vs Surabaya 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 5, 2026 and Sep 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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