Air quality comparison · Pakistan, 1109 km apart
Karachi vs Peshawar Air quality index (AQI) today
Karachi has cleaner air than Peshawar right now: AQI 104 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 268 (Very unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Karachi averaged AQI 79 against 110, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Karachi has lost more forest since 2001. Peshawar has more tree cover.
Pakistan
AQI 104
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 36.9 µg/m³2.5× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 20:00 local
Pakistan
AQI 268
Very unhealthy
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 192.8 µg/m³13× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 20:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Karachi104Peshawar268
Head to head
Karachi vs Peshawar at a glance
Karachi is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Peshawar on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Karachi | Peshawar | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 104 (better) | 268 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 36.9 (better) | 192.8 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 79 (better) | 110 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 5 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.7% | 3.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 105K (better) | 129K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Karachi and Peshawar right now?
Karachi has cleaner air than Peshawar right now: AQI 104 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 268 (Very unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Karachi's PM2.5 is about 2.5× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Peshawar's PM2.5 is about 13× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
KarachiPeshawar
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).
Karachi: Ground station · NED University City Campus, 1.6 km away · median of 17 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Hawanama, The Urban Unit, Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI پاکی).
Peshawar: Ground station · Ashrafia Colony, 2.1 km away · median of 8 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Hawanama, The Urban Unit, Pakistan Air Quality Initiative (PAQI پاکی).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Karachi averaged AQI 79 against 110, 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
- Karachi7Peshawar0
- Average AQI
- Karachi79Peshawar110
- Worst day, AQI
- Karachi91Peshawar141
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Karachi | Peshawar |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 91 | 95 |
| Nov 6 | 82 | 94 |
| Nov 7 | 78 | 101 |
| Nov 8 | 74 | 110 |
| Nov 9 | 81 | 141 |
| Nov 10 | 74 | 120 |
| Nov 11 | 72 | 106 |
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 Karachi and Peshawar today?
Karachi (AQI 104, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Peshawar (AQI 268, Very unhealthy): Health alert — everyone should avoid long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Karachi
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Peshawar
- Everyone should avoid long or hard exercise outdoors; sensitive groups, all outdoor exertion.
Windows
- Karachi
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Peshawar
- Keep them closed.
Masks
- Karachi
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Peshawar
- Wear an N95 if you go out.
Air purifier
- Karachi
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Peshawar
- Run one on high.
Against everywhere else
How do Karachi and Peshawar compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Karachi's air is cleaner than 19% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Peshawar's is cleaner than 2%. Within Pakistan, that is 92% and 50% of its 127 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Karachi
- Beats 19%
- Peshawar
- Beats 2%
More tree cover than…
- Karachi
- Beats 3%
- Peshawar
- Beats 8%
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, Karachi or Peshawar?
Karachi has lost more: about 5 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Peshawar. under 1 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: 2001, with under 1 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with under 1 ha lost.
| Karachi | Peshawar | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 5 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Storms, floods and other natural causes (36%) | Towns and roads (20%) |
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.
Karachi
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Peshawar
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Karachi or Peshawar?
Peshawar has more tree cover: 3.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.7% around Karachi, or about 11,938 trees against 5,341.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Karachi | Peshawar | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 5.3K | 11.9K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 105K (better) | 129K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 118K kg | 263K 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
Karachi vs Peshawar: your questions answered
Is Karachi cleaner than Peshawar?
On air quality, yes, right now: Karachi reads AQI 104 against 268, a gap of 164 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, Karachi averaged AQI 79 against 110, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Karachi and Peshawar today?
In Karachi, at AQI 104: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Peshawar, at AQI 268: Health alert — everyone should avoid long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Karachi or Peshawar?
Karachi has lost more: about 5 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Peshawar. under 1 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Karachi or Peshawar?
Peshawar has more tree cover: 3.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.7% around Karachi, or about 11,938 trees against 5,341. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Karachi and Peshawar need?
Karachi needs about 104,615 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Peshawar about 129,434 to reach 45%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Karachi and Peshawar 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 Karachi vs Peshawar 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 24, 2026 and Sep 14, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Karachi with somewhere else
This place
Karachi