Air quality comparison · Kazakhstan, 876 km apart
Karagandy vs Shymkent Air quality index (AQI) today
Shymkent has cleaner air than Karagandy right now: AQI 54 (Moderate) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Karagandy averaged AQI 45 against 55, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Shymkent has lost more forest since 2001. Karagandy has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Karagandy113Shymkent54
Head to head
Karagandy vs Shymkent at a glance
Karagandy and Shymkent are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Karagandy | Shymkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 113 | 54 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 40.2 | 9.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 45 (better) | 55 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 7 ha (better) | 19 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 26.1% (better) | 22.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 27.7K | 22.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Karagandy and Shymkent right now?
Shymkent has cleaner air than Karagandy right now: AQI 54 (Moderate) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Karagandy's PM2.5 is about 2.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Karagandy is read from a nearby ground station and Shymkent is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
KaragandyShymkent
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).
Karagandy: Ground station · Erubaeva, 1.4 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Arai.
Shymkent: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Tashkent and Khujand. 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?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Karagandy averaged AQI 45 against 55, 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
- Karagandy5Shymkent2
- Average AQI
- Karagandy45Shymkent55
- Worst day, AQI
- Karagandy79Shymkent95
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Karagandy | Shymkent |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 79 | 95 |
| Nov 6 | 36 | 61 |
| Nov 7 | 53 | 56 |
| Nov 8 | 59 | 58 |
| Nov 9 | 37 | 55 |
| Nov 10 | 21 | 34 |
| Nov 11 | 32 | 23 |
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 Karagandy and Shymkent today?
Karagandy (AQI 113, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Shymkent (AQI 54, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Karagandy
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Shymkent
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Karagandy
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Shymkent
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Karagandy
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Shymkent
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Karagandy
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Shymkent
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Karagandy and Shymkent compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Karagandy's air is cleaner than 18% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Shymkent's is cleaner than 56%. Within Kazakhstan, that is 0% and 14% of its 23 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Karagandy
- Beats 18%
- Shymkent
- Beats 56%
More tree cover than…
- Karagandy
- Beats 60%
- Shymkent
- 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, Karagandy or Shymkent?
Shymkent has lost more: about 19 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Karagandy. 15 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: 2024, with 2 ha lost.
Worst year: 2007, with 6 ha lost.
| Karagandy | Shymkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 7 ha (better) | 19 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 15 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Logging (45%) | Towns and roads (79%) |
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.
Karagandy
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Shymkent
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Karagandy or Shymkent?
Karagandy has more tree cover: 26.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 22.8% around Shymkent, or about 81,176 trees against 71,628.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Karagandy | Shymkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 81.2K (better) | 71.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 27.7K | 22.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.8M kg (better) | 1.6M 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
Karagandy vs Shymkent: your questions answered
Is Shymkent cleaner than Karagandy?
On air quality, yes, right now: Shymkent reads AQI 54 against 113, a gap of 59 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Karagandy averaged AQI 45 against 55, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Karagandy and Shymkent today?
In Karagandy, at AQI 113: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Shymkent, at AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Karagandy or Shymkent?
Shymkent has lost more: about 19 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Karagandy. 15 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Karagandy or Shymkent?
Karagandy has more tree cover: 26.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 22.8% around Shymkent, or about 81,176 trees against 71,628. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Karagandy and Shymkent need?
Karagandy needs about 27,681 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Shymkent about 22,619 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Karagandy and Shymkent 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. Karagandy is read from a nearby ground station and Shymkent 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 Karagandy vs Shymkent 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 17, 2026 and Sep 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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