Air quality comparison · Malaysia, 296 km apart
Johor Bahru vs Kuala Lumpur Air quality index (AQI) today
Johor Bahru has cleaner air than Kuala Lumpur right now: AQI 72 (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, Johor Bahru averaged AQI 56 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Johor Bahru has lost more forest since 2001. Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover.
Malaysia
AQI 72
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 20.4 µg/m³1.4× WHO guideline
- 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.
Johor Bahru72Kuala Lumpur73
Head to head
Johor Bahru vs Kuala Lumpur at a glance
Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Johor Bahru | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 72 (better) | 73 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 20.4 (better) | 20.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 56 (better) | 92 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 1,970 ha | 1,250 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 22.3% | 44.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 20.1K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur right now?
Johor Bahru has cleaner air than Kuala Lumpur right now: AQI 72 (Moderate) against 73 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Johor Bahru's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. 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.
Johor BahruKuala 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).
Johor Bahru: Ground station · Larkin Lama, Johor, Malaysia, 4 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System, NEA - Singapore National Environment Agency.
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, Johor Bahru averaged AQI 56 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
- Johor Bahru7Kuala Lumpur0
- Average AQI
- Johor Bahru56Kuala Lumpur92
- Worst day, AQI
- Johor Bahru73Kuala Lumpur114
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Johor Bahru | Kuala Lumpur |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 73 | 92 |
| Nov 6 | 63 | 90 |
| Nov 7 | 48 | 83 |
| Nov 8 | 53 | 87 |
| Nov 9 | 49 | 83 |
| Nov 10 | 50 | 94 |
| Nov 11 | 57 | 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 Johor Bahru 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 Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Johor Bahru's air is cleaner than 36% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kuala Lumpur's is cleaner than 35%. Within Malaysia, that is 35% and 31% of its 56 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Johor Bahru
- Beats 36%
- Kuala Lumpur
- Beats 35%
More tree cover than…
- Johor Bahru
- Beats 52%
- 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, Johor Bahru or Kuala Lumpur?
Johor Bahru has lost more: about 1,970 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,250 ha around Kuala Lumpur. 1,970 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 170 ha lost.
Worst year: 2004, with 165 ha lost.
| Johor Bahru | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1,970 ha | 1,250 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 27% | 25% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1,970 ha | 1,250 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (79%) | 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.
Johor Bahru
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest 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, Johor Bahru or Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover: 44.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 22.3% around Johor Bahru, or about 137,748 trees against 58,218.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Johor Bahru | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 58.2K | 138K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 20.1K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.3M 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
Johor Bahru vs Kuala Lumpur: your questions answered
Is Johor Bahru cleaner than Kuala Lumpur?
On air quality, yes, right now: Johor Bahru reads AQI 72 against 73, a gap of 1 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, Johor Bahru averaged AQI 56 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Johor Bahru reads AQI 72 and Kuala Lumpur reads AQI 73.
Which has lost more forest, Johor Bahru or Kuala Lumpur?
Johor Bahru has lost more: about 1,970 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,250 ha around Kuala Lumpur. 1,970 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Johor Bahru or Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover: 44.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 22.3% around Johor Bahru, or about 137,748 trees against 58,218. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur need?
Johor Bahru needs about 20,102 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 Johor Bahru 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 Johor Bahru 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 (Aug 27, 2026 and Aug 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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