Air quality comparison · Nigeria, 72 km apart
Kaduna vs Zaria Air quality index (AQI) today
Kaduna has cleaner air than Zaria right now: AQI 121 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 178 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kaduna averaged AQI 134 against 183, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Kaduna has more tree cover.
Nigeria
AQI 121
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 47.8 µg/m³3.2× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 16:00 local
Nigeria
AQI 178
Unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 97.1 µg/m³6.5× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 16:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kaduna121Zaria178
Head to head
Kaduna vs Zaria at a glance
Kaduna is ahead on 5 of 5 measures, and Zaria on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kaduna | Zaria | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 121 (better) | 178 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 47.8 (better) | 97.1 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 134 (better) | 183 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 15.5% (better) | 13.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 61.3K (better) | 82.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kaduna and Zaria right now?
Kaduna has cleaner air than Zaria right now: AQI 121 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 178 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kaduna's PM2.5 is about 3.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Zaria's PM2.5 is about 6.5× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
KadunaZaria
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).
Kaduna: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 165 km, e.g. Madalla and Abuja. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index.
Zaria: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Madalla and Abuja. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kaduna averaged AQI 134 against 183, 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
- Kaduna7Zaria0
- Average AQI
- Kaduna134Zaria183
- Worst day, AQI
- Kaduna172Zaria207
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Kaduna | Zaria |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 134 | 180 |
| Nov 5 | 172 | 207 |
| Nov 6 | 143 | 199 |
| Nov 7 | 137 | 207 |
| Nov 8 | 113 | 151 |
| Nov 9 | 116 | 168 |
| Nov 10 | 121 | 171 |
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 Kaduna and Zaria today?
Kaduna (AQI 121, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Zaria (AQI 178, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Exercise outdoors
- Kaduna
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Zaria
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
Windows
- Kaduna
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Zaria
- Keep them closed.
Masks
- Kaduna
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Zaria
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Kaduna
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Zaria
- Run one.
Against everywhere else
How do Kaduna and Zaria compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kaduna's air is cleaner than 15% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Zaria's is cleaner than 5%. Within Nigeria, that is 6% and 1% of its 99 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kaduna
- Beats 15%
- Zaria
- Beats 5%
More tree cover than…
- Kaduna
- Beats 36%
- Zaria
- Beats 31%
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.
Kaduna
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Zaria
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kaduna or Zaria?
Kaduna has more tree cover: 15.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.8% around Zaria, or about 48,695 trees against 43,354.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kaduna | Zaria | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 48.7K (better) | 43.4K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 61.3K (better) | 82.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.1M kg (better) | 954K 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
Kaduna vs Zaria: your questions answered
Is Kaduna cleaner than Zaria?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kaduna reads AQI 121 against 178, a gap of 57 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, Kaduna averaged AQI 134 against 183, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kaduna and Zaria today?
In Kaduna, at AQI 121: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Zaria, at AQI 178: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Which has more trees, Kaduna or Zaria?
Kaduna has more tree cover: 15.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.8% around Zaria, or about 48,695 trees against 43,354. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kaduna and Zaria need?
Kaduna needs about 61,261 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Zaria about 82,310 to reach 40%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kaduna and Zaria 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 Kaduna vs Zaria 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 (Oct 30, 2026 and Oct 30, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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