Air quality comparison · Nepal, 147 km apart
Kathmandu vs Pokhara Air quality index (AQI) today
Pokhara has cleaner air than Kathmandu right now: AQI 82 (Moderate) against 132 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Pokhara averaged AQI 61 against 103, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Kathmandu has lost more forest since 2001. Pokhara has more tree cover.
Nepal
AQI 132
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 48 µg/m³3.2× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 21:45 local
Nepal
AQI 82
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 25.8 µg/m³1.7× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 21:45 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kathmandu132Pokhara82
Head to head
Kathmandu vs Pokhara at a glance
Pokhara is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Kathmandu on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kathmandu | Pokhara | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 132 | 82 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 48 | 25.8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 103 | 61 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 198 ha | 21 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 9.4% | 56.5% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 80.4K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kathmandu and Pokhara right now?
Pokhara has cleaner air than Kathmandu right now: AQI 82 (Moderate) against 132 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kathmandu's PM2.5 is about 3.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Pokhara's PM2.5 is about 1.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
KathmanduPokhara
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).
Kathmandu: Ground station · Chhetrapati (SC - 19) - GD Labs, 1.8 km away · median of 29 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Green Decision Labs and Research, Clean Energy Nepal (CEN), Sapana Bhujel, KIAS.
Pokhara: Ground station · Shree Vindhyavasini Secondary School, Pokhara, 1.2 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Clean Energy Nepal (CEN).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Pokhara averaged AQI 61 against 103, 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
- Kathmandu0Pokhara7
- Average AQI
- Kathmandu103Pokhara61
- Worst day, AQI
- Kathmandu131Pokhara70
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Kathmandu | Pokhara |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 92 | 63 |
| Nov 5 | 111 | 69 |
| Nov 6 | 131 | 67 |
| Nov 7 | 126 | 70 |
| Nov 8 | 91 | 55 |
| Nov 9 | 91 | 51 |
| Nov 10 | 80 | 50 |
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 Kathmandu and Pokhara today?
Kathmandu (AQI 132, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Pokhara (AQI 82, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Kathmandu
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Pokhara
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Kathmandu
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Pokhara
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Kathmandu
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Pokhara
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Kathmandu
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Pokhara
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Kathmandu and Pokhara compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kathmandu's air is cleaner than 13% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Pokhara's is cleaner than 30%. Within Nepal, that is 33% and 83% of its 13 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kathmandu
- Beats 13%
- Pokhara
- Beats 30%
More tree cover than…
- Kathmandu
- Beats 20%
- Pokhara
- Beats 95%
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, Kathmandu or Pokhara?
Kathmandu has lost more: about 198 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 21 ha around Pokhara. 173 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: 2021, with 25 ha lost.
Worst year: 2024, with 5 ha lost.
| Kathmandu | Pokhara | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 198 ha | 21 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 4.2% | under 1% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 173 ha | 12 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (85%) | Towns and roads (55%) |
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.
Kathmandu
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Pokhara
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kathmandu or Pokhara?
Pokhara has more tree cover: 56.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.4% around Kathmandu, or about 177,500 trees against 29,531.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kathmandu | Pokhara | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 29.5K | 178K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 80.4K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 650K kg | 3.9M 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
Kathmandu vs Pokhara: your questions answered
Is Pokhara cleaner than Kathmandu?
On air quality, yes, right now: Pokhara reads AQI 82 against 132, a gap of 50 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, Pokhara averaged AQI 61 against 103, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kathmandu and Pokhara today?
In Kathmandu, at AQI 132: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Pokhara, at AQI 82: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Kathmandu or Pokhara?
Kathmandu has lost more: about 198 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 21 ha around Pokhara. 173 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kathmandu or Pokhara?
Pokhara has more tree cover: 56.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.4% around Kathmandu, or about 177,500 trees against 29,531. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kathmandu and Pokhara need?
Kathmandu needs about 80,425 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Pokhara about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kathmandu and Pokhara 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 Kathmandu vs Pokhara 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 12, 2026 and Aug 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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