Air quality comparison · Armenia, 195 km apart
Kapan vs Yerevan Air quality index (AQI) today
Kapan has cleaner air than Yerevan right now: AQI 34 (Good) against 159 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Kapan averaged AQI 27 against 28, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Kapan has lost more forest since 2001. Kapan has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kapan34Yerevan159
Head to head
Kapan vs Yerevan at a glance
Kapan is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Yerevan on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kapan | Yerevan | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 34 (better) | 159 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 5.3 (better) | 66.4 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 27 (better) | 28 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 9 ha | 9 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 40.1% (better) | 17.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 69.4K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kapan and Yerevan right now?
Kapan has cleaner air than Yerevan right now: AQI 34 (Good) against 159 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Yerevan's PM2.5 is about 4.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Yerevan is read from a nearby ground station and Kapan is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
KapanYerevan
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).
Kapan: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Yerevan: Ground station · 32 Aram street, Yerevan, Armenia, 400 m away · median of 20 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Clarity, Anton Vlasov, Asatryan studio balkon, Tubal Cain.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Kapan averaged AQI 27 against 28, 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
- Kapan4Yerevan2
- Average AQI
- Kapan27Yerevan28
- Worst day, AQI
- Kapan47Yerevan36
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Kapan | Yerevan |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6 | 26 | 29 |
| Nov 7 | 25 | 33 |
| Nov 8 | 10 | 25 |
| Nov 9 | 14 | 20 |
| Nov 10 | 42 | 26 |
| Nov 11 | 47 | 36 |
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 Kapan and Yerevan today?
Kapan (AQI 34, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Yerevan (AQI 159, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Exercise outdoors
- Kapan
- A good day to be active outside.
- Yerevan
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
Windows
- Kapan
- Open them to air the house.
- Yerevan
- Keep them closed.
Masks
- Kapan
- Not needed.
- Yerevan
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Kapan
- Not needed.
- Yerevan
- Run one.
Against everywhere else
How do Kapan and Yerevan compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kapan's air is cleaner than 74% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Yerevan's is cleaner than 9%. Within Armenia, that is 100% and 0% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kapan
- Beats 74%
- Yerevan
- Beats 9%
More tree cover than…
- Kapan
- Beats 84%
- Yerevan
- Beats 41%
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, Kapan or Yerevan?
Kapan has lost more: about 9 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 9 ha around Yerevan. 3 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: 2017, with 2 ha lost.
Worst year: 2004, with 3 ha lost.
| Kapan | Yerevan | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 9 ha | 9 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 3 ha (better) | 7 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Mining and energy (27%) | Towns and roads (75%) |
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.
Kapan
2018: satellite photo from June 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Yerevan
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kapan or Yerevan?
Kapan has more tree cover: 40.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.9% around Yerevan, or about 125,978 trees against 56,235.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kapan | Yerevan | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 126K (better) | 56.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 69.4K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.8M kg (better) | 1.2M 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
Kapan vs Yerevan: your questions answered
Is Kapan cleaner than Yerevan?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kapan reads AQI 34 against 159, a gap of 125 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Kapan averaged AQI 27 against 28, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kapan and Yerevan today?
In Kapan, at AQI 34: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Yerevan, at AQI 159: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Which has lost more forest, Kapan or Yerevan?
Kapan has lost more: about 9 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 9 ha around Yerevan. 3 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kapan or Yerevan?
Kapan has more tree cover: 40.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.9% around Yerevan, or about 125,978 trees against 56,235. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kapan and Yerevan need?
Kapan needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Yerevan about 69,429 to reach 40%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kapan and Yerevan 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. Yerevan is read from a nearby ground station and Kapan is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Kapan vs Yerevan 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 14, 2026 and Sep 14, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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