Air quality comparison · Malaysia, 337 km apart
Kota Bharu vs Kuala Lumpur Air quality index (AQI) today
Kota Bharu has cleaner air than Kuala Lumpur right now: AQI 62 (Moderate) against 73 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kota Bharu averaged AQI 23 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Kuala Lumpur has lost more forest since 2001. Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover.
Malaysia
AQI 62
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 15 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 01:00 local
Malaysia
AQI 73
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 20.7 µg/m³1.4× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 01:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kota Bharu62Kuala Lumpur73
Head to head
Kota Bharu vs Kuala Lumpur at a glance
Kota Bharu is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Kuala Lumpur on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kota Bharu | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 62 (better) | 73 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 15 (better) | 20.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 23 (better) | 92 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 1,190 ha (better) | 1,250 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 20.1% | 44.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 29.3K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kota Bharu and Kuala Lumpur right now?
Kota Bharu has cleaner air than Kuala Lumpur right now: AQI 62 (Moderate) against 73 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kuala Lumpur's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Kota BharuKuala Lumpur
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).
Kota Bharu: Ground station · Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, 2.7 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System.
Kuala Lumpur: Ground station · Kuala Lumpur, 200 m away · median of 3 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Malaysia Department of Environment (DOE); Air Polluant Index Management System.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kota Bharu averaged AQI 23 against 92, 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
- Kota Bharu7Kuala Lumpur0
- Average AQI
- Kota Bharu23Kuala Lumpur92
- Worst day, AQI
- Kota Bharu27Kuala Lumpur114
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Kota Bharu | Kuala Lumpur |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 27 | 92 |
| Nov 6 | 25 | 90 |
| Nov 7 | 20 | 83 |
| Nov 8 | 19 | 87 |
| Nov 9 | 17 | 83 |
| Nov 10 | 25 | 94 |
| Nov 11 | 25 | 114 |
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 Kota Bharu and Kuala Lumpur 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 Kota Bharu and Kuala Lumpur compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kota Bharu's air is cleaner than 45% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kuala Lumpur's is cleaner than 35%. Within Malaysia, that is 44% and 31% of its 56 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kota Bharu
- Beats 45%
- Kuala Lumpur
- Beats 35%
More tree cover than…
- Kota Bharu
- Beats 47%
- Kuala Lumpur
- Beats 88%
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, Kota Bharu or Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur has lost more: about 1,250 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,190 ha around Kota Bharu. 1,250 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 208 ha lost.
Worst year: 2004, with 165 ha lost.
| Kota Bharu | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1,190 ha (better) | 1,250 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 12% (better) | 25% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1,190 ha (better) | 1,250 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Speeding up | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (62%) | Towns and roads (99%) |
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.
Kota Bharu
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km south of the city center.
Kuala Lumpur
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kota Bharu or Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover: 44.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.1% around Kota Bharu, or about 137,748 trees against 59,547.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kota Bharu | Kuala Lumpur | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 59.5K | 138K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 29.3K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.3M kg | 3.0M 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
Kota Bharu vs Kuala Lumpur: your questions answered
Is Kota Bharu cleaner than Kuala Lumpur?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kota Bharu reads AQI 62 against 73, a gap of 11 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, Kota Bharu averaged AQI 23 against 92, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kota Bharu and Kuala Lumpur today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Kota Bharu reads AQI 62 and Kuala Lumpur reads AQI 73.
Which has lost more forest, Kota Bharu or Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur has lost more: about 1,250 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,190 ha around Kota Bharu. 1,250 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kota Bharu or Kuala Lumpur?
Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover: 44.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.1% around Kota Bharu, or about 137,748 trees against 59,547. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kota Bharu and Kuala Lumpur need?
Kota Bharu needs about 29,329 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kuala Lumpur about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kota Bharu and Kuala Lumpur 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 Kota Bharu vs Kuala Lumpur 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 27, 2026 and Aug 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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