Air quality comparison · Indonesia, 193 km apart
Jambi City vs Palembang Air quality index (AQI) today
Palembang has cleaner air than Jambi City right now: AQI 89 (Moderate) against 106 (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, Palembang averaged AQI 74 against 90, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Jambi City has lost more forest since 2001. Palembang has more tree cover.
Indonesia
AQI 106
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 37.5 µg/m³2.5× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 22:00 local
Indonesia
AQI 89
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 29.7 µg/m³2.0× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 22:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Jambi City106Palembang89
Head to head
Jambi City vs Palembang at a glance
Palembang is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Jambi City on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Jambi City | Palembang | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 106 | 89 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 37.5 | 29.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 90 | 74 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 5,870 ha | 5,540 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 19.9% | 24.6% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 46.6K | 17.0K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Jambi City and Palembang right now?
Palembang has cleaner air than Jambi City right now: AQI 89 (Moderate) against 106 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Jambi City's PM2.5 is about 2.5× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Palembang's PM2.5 is about 2.0× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Jambi CityPalembang
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).
Jambi City: Ground station · Jambi, Indonesia, 4.5 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, BMKG | Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika.
Palembang: Ground station · Musi 2 Palembang, Indonesia, 13 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, BMKG | Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Palembang averaged AQI 74 against 90, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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
- Jambi City2Palembang5
- Average AQI
- Jambi City90Palembang74
- Worst day, AQI
- Jambi City135Palembang86
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Jambi City | Palembang |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 113 | 68 |
| Nov 6 | 87 | 66 |
| Nov 7 | 92 | 74 |
| Nov 8 | 135 | 69 |
| Nov 9 | 80 | 76 |
| Nov 10 | 63 | 86 |
| Nov 11 | 63 | 77 |
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 Jambi City and Palembang today?
Jambi City (AQI 106, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Palembang (AQI 89, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Jambi City
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Palembang
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Jambi City
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Palembang
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Jambi City
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Palembang
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Jambi City
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Palembang
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Jambi City and Palembang compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Jambi City's air is cleaner than 20% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Palembang's is cleaner than 26%. Within Indonesia, that is 27% and 42% of its 156 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Jambi City
- Beats 20%
- Palembang
- Beats 26%
More tree cover than…
- Jambi City
- Beats 47%
- Palembang
- Beats 57%
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, Jambi City or Palembang?
Jambi City has lost more: about 5,870 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 5,540 ha around Palembang. 5,860 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: 2016, with 620 ha lost.
Worst year: 2012, with 570 ha lost.
| Jambi City | Palembang | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 5,870 ha | 5,540 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 35% (better) | 44% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 5,860 ha | 5,180 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (65%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (68%) |
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.
Jambi City
2018: satellite photo from September 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Palembang
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Jambi City or Palembang?
Palembang has more tree cover: 24.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.9% around Jambi City, or about 77,283 trees against 61,455.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Jambi City | Palembang | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 61.5K | 77.3K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 46.6K | 17.0K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.4M kg | 1.7M 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
Jambi City vs Palembang: your questions answered
Is Palembang cleaner than Jambi City?
On air quality, yes, right now: Palembang reads AQI 89 against 106, a gap of 17 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, Palembang averaged AQI 74 against 90, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Jambi City and Palembang today?
In Jambi City, at AQI 106: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Palembang, at AQI 89: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Jambi City or Palembang?
Jambi City has lost more: about 5,870 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 5,540 ha around Palembang. 5,860 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Jambi City or Palembang?
Palembang has more tree cover: 24.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.9% around Jambi City, or about 77,283 trees against 61,455. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Jambi City and Palembang need?
Jambi City needs about 46,632 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Palembang about 16,965 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Jambi City and Palembang 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 Jambi City vs Palembang 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 3, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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