Air quality comparison · Afghanistan, 457 km apart
Kabul vs Kandahār Air quality index (AQI) today
Kandahār has cleaner air than Kabul right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 151 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kandahār averaged AQI 53 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Kabul has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kabul151Kandahār59
Head to head
Kabul vs Kandahār at a glance
Kandahār is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Kabul on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kabul | Kandahār | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 151 | 59 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 58 | 12.3 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 57 | 53 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 10.4% (better) | 0.6% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 93.0K | 92.4K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kabul and Kandahār right now?
Kandahār has cleaner air than Kabul right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 151 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kabul's PM2.5 is about 3.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
KabulKandahār
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).
Kabul: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Shabqadar and Peshawar. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
Kandahār: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kandahār averaged AQI 53 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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
- Kabul3Kandahār4
- Average AQI
- Kabul57Kandahār53
- Worst day, AQI
- Kabul65Kandahār64
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Kabul | Kandahār |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 62 | 64 |
| Nov 5 | 62 | 64 |
| Nov 6 | 62 | 58 |
| Nov 7 | 45 | 57 |
| Nov 8 | 51 | 42 |
| Nov 9 | 52 | 28 |
| Nov 10 | 65 | 57 |
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 Kabul and Kandahār today?
Kabul (AQI 151, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Kandahār (AQI 59, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Kabul
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
- Kandahār
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Kabul
- Keep them closed.
- Kandahār
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Kabul
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
- Kandahār
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Kabul
- Run one.
- Kandahār
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Kabul and Kandahār compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kabul's air is cleaner than 11% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kandahār's is cleaner than 49%. Within Afghanistan, that is 0% and 40% of its 11 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kabul
- Beats 11%
- Kandahār
- Beats 49%
More tree cover than…
- Kabul
- Beats 22%
- Kandahār
- Beats 1%
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.
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.
Kabul
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Kandahār
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kabul or Kandahār?
Kabul has more tree cover: 10.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.6% around Kandahār, or about 32,673 trees against 1,885.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kabul | Kandahār | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 32.7K (better) | 1.9K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 93.0K | 92.4K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 719K kg (better) | 41.5K 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
Kabul vs Kandahār: your questions answered
Is Kandahār cleaner than Kabul?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kandahār reads AQI 59 against 151, a gap of 92 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, Kandahār averaged AQI 53 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kabul and Kandahār today?
In Kabul, at AQI 151: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. In Kandahār, at AQI 59: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has more trees, Kabul or Kandahār?
Kabul has more tree cover: 10.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.6% around Kandahār, or about 32,673 trees against 1,885. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kabul and Kandahār need?
Kabul needs about 92,991 more to reach its canopy target of 40%, and Kandahār about 92,363 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kabul and Kandahār 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 are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Kabul vs Kandahār 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 12, 2026 and Sep 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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