Air quality comparison · Ukraine, 411 km apart
Kharkiv vs Kyiv Air quality index (AQI) today
Kharkiv has cleaner air than Kyiv right now: AQI 55 (Moderate) against 68 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Kharkiv averaged AQI 36 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Kharkiv has lost more forest since 2001. Kyiv has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kharkiv55Kyiv68
Head to head
Kharkiv vs Kyiv at a glance
Kharkiv and Kyiv are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kharkiv | Kyiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 55 (better) | 68 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 10.5 (better) | 18.4 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 36 (better) | 42 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 171 ha | 146 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 27.7% | 42.3% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 7.2K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kharkiv and Kyiv right now?
Kharkiv has cleaner air than Kyiv right now: AQI 55 (Moderate) against 68 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kyiv's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Kyiv is read from a nearby ground station and Kharkiv is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
KharkivKyiv
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).
Kharkiv: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Kyiv: Ground station · Київ, Берестейський проспект 89А, 9.8 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Kharkiv averaged AQI 36 against 42, 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
- Kharkiv4Kyiv2
- Average AQI
- Kharkiv36Kyiv42
- Worst day, AQI
- Kharkiv52Kyiv65
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Kharkiv | Kyiv |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 21 | 31 |
| Nov 6 | 27 | 26 |
| Nov 7 | 30 | 28 |
| Nov 8 | 39 | 49 |
| Nov 9 | 49 | 65 |
| Nov 10 | 52 | 55 |
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 Kharkiv and Kyiv 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 Kharkiv and Kyiv compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kharkiv's air is cleaner than 54% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kyiv's is cleaner than 39%. Within Ukraine, that is 37% and 20% of its 42 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kharkiv
- Beats 54%
- Kyiv
- Beats 39%
More tree cover than…
- Kharkiv
- Beats 64%
- Kyiv
- Beats 86%
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, Kharkiv or Kyiv?
Kharkiv has lost more: about 171 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 146 ha around Kyiv. 123 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 19 ha lost.
Worst year: 2010, with 12 ha lost.
| Kharkiv | Kyiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 171 ha | 146 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.4% (better) | 2.6% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 123 ha | 116 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (71%) | 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.
Kharkiv
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Kyiv
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kharkiv or Kyiv?
Kyiv has more tree cover: 42.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 27.7% around Kharkiv, or about 117,474 trees against 86,848.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kharkiv | Kyiv | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 86.8K | 117K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 7.2K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.9M kg | 2.6M 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
Kharkiv vs Kyiv: your questions answered
Is Kharkiv cleaner than Kyiv?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kharkiv reads AQI 55 against 68, a gap of 13 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, Kharkiv averaged AQI 36 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kharkiv and Kyiv today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Kharkiv reads AQI 55 and Kyiv reads AQI 68.
Which has lost more forest, Kharkiv or Kyiv?
Kharkiv has lost more: about 171 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 146 ha around Kyiv. 123 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kharkiv or Kyiv?
Kyiv has more tree cover: 42.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 27.7% around Kharkiv, or about 117,474 trees against 86,848. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kharkiv and Kyiv need?
Kharkiv needs about 7,211 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kyiv about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kharkiv and Kyiv 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. Kyiv is read from a nearby ground station and Kharkiv 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 Kharkiv vs Kyiv 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 19, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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