Air quality comparison · Guinea, 297 km apart
Kankan vs Nzérékoré Air quality index (AQI) today
Nzérékoré has cleaner air than Kankan right now: AQI 62 (Moderate) against 96 (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, Nzérékoré averaged AQI 54 against 67, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Nzérékoré has lost more forest since 2001. Nzérékoré has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kankan96Nzérékoré62
Head to head
Kankan vs Nzérékoré at a glance
Nzérékoré is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Kankan on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kankan | Nzérékoré | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 96 | 62 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 36.2 | 13.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 67 | 54 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 61 ha (better) | 7,420 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 10.0% | 22.7% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 62.8K | 22.9K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kankan and Nzérékoré right now?
Nzérékoré has cleaner air than Kankan right now: AQI 62 (Moderate) against 96 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kankan's PM2.5 is about 2.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
KankanNzérékoré
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).
Kankan: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Nzérékoré: 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, Nzérékoré averaged AQI 54 against 67, 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
- Kankan2Nzérékoré5
- Average AQI
- Kankan67Nzérékoré54
- Worst day, AQI
- Kankan75Nzérékoré60
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Kankan | Nzérékoré |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 63 | 48 |
| Nov 5 | 75 | 50 |
| Nov 6 | 58 | 59 |
| Nov 7 | 57 | 59 |
| Nov 8 | 73 | 44 |
| Nov 9 | 75 | 60 |
| Nov 10 | 68 | 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 Kankan and Nzérékoré 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 Kankan and Nzérékoré compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kankan's air is cleaner than 23% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Nzérékoré's is cleaner than 46%. Within Guinea, that is 22% and 89% of its 10 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kankan
- Beats 23%
- Nzérékoré
- Beats 46%
More tree cover than…
- Kankan
- Beats 21%
- Nzérékoré
- Beats 53%
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, Kankan or Nzérékoré?
Nzérékoré has lost more: about 7,420 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 61 ha around Kankan. 4,440 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: 2010, with 19 ha lost.
Worst year: 2020, with 794 ha lost.
| Kankan | Nzérékoré | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 61 ha (better) | 7,420 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 53% | 27% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 61 ha (better) | 4,440 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (98%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (44%) |
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.
Kankan
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Nzérékoré
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kankan or Nzérékoré?
Nzérékoré has more tree cover: 22.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.0% around Kankan, or about 71,314 trees against 31,416.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kankan | Nzérékoré | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 31.4K | 71.3K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 62.8K | 22.9K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 691K kg | 1.6M 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
Kankan vs Nzérékoré: your questions answered
Is Nzérékoré cleaner than Kankan?
On air quality, yes, right now: Nzérékoré reads AQI 62 against 96, a gap of 34 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, Nzérékoré averaged AQI 54 against 67, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kankan and Nzérékoré today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Kankan reads AQI 96 and Nzérékoré reads AQI 62.
Which has lost more forest, Kankan or Nzérékoré?
Nzérékoré has lost more: about 7,420 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 61 ha around Kankan. 4,440 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kankan or Nzérékoré?
Nzérékoré has more tree cover: 22.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.0% around Kankan, or about 71,314 trees against 31,416. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kankan and Nzérékoré need?
Kankan needs about 62,832 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Nzérékoré about 22,934 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kankan and Nzérékoré 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 Kankan vs Nzérékoré 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 17, 2026 and May 1, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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