Air quality comparison · Malaysia, 18 km apart
Kuala Lumpur vs Puchong Air quality index (AQI) today
Kuala Lumpur has cleaner air than Puchong right now: AQI 68 (Moderate) against 72 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Puchong averaged AQI 86 against 88, and it was the cleaner of the two on 1 of those days. Puchong has lost more forest since 2001. Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover.
Malaysia
AQI 68
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 18.3 µg/m³1.2× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 00:00 local
Malaysia
AQI 72
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 20.2 µg/m³1.3× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 12, 00:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kuala Lumpur68Puchong72
Head to head
Kuala Lumpur vs Puchong at a glance
Kuala Lumpur is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Puchong on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kuala Lumpur | Puchong | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 68 (better) | 72 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 18.3 (better) | 20.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 88 | 86 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 1,250 ha (better) | 3,860 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 44.2% (better) | 13.6% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 47.7K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kuala Lumpur and Puchong right now?
Kuala Lumpur has cleaner air than Puchong right now: AQI 68 (Moderate) against 72 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kuala Lumpur's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Puchong's PM2.5 is about 1.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Kuala LumpurPuchong
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).
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.
Puchong: Ground station · Putrajaya, W.p. Putrajaya, Malaysia, 12.5 km away · median of 7 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 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Puchong averaged AQI 86 against 88, and it was the cleaner of the two on 1 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
- Kuala Lumpur0Puchong1
- Average AQI
- Kuala Lumpur88Puchong86
- Worst day, AQI
- Kuala Lumpur94Puchong92
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Kuala Lumpur | Puchong |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 92 | 92 |
| Nov 6 | 90 | 90 |
| Nov 7 | 83 | 83 |
| Nov 8 | 87 | 87 |
| Nov 9 | 83 | 83 |
| Nov 10 | 94 | 81 |
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 Kuala Lumpur and Puchong 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 Kuala Lumpur and Puchong compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kuala Lumpur's air is cleaner than 39% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Puchong's is cleaner than 36%. Within Malaysia, that is 25% and 22% of its 56 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kuala Lumpur
- Beats 39%
- Puchong
- Beats 36%
More tree cover than…
- Kuala Lumpur
- Beats 88%
- Puchong
- Beats 31%
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, Kuala Lumpur or Puchong?
Puchong has lost more: about 3,860 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,250 ha around Kuala Lumpur. 3,680 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: 2004, with 165 ha lost.
Worst year: 2004, with 521 ha lost.
| Kuala Lumpur | Puchong | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1,250 ha (better) | 3,860 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 25% (better) | 48% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1,250 ha (better) | 3,680 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (99%) | Towns and roads (80%) |
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.
Kuala Lumpur
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km west of the city center.
Puchong
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kuala Lumpur or Puchong?
Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover: 44.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.6% around Puchong, or about 137,748 trees against 39,564.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kuala Lumpur | Puchong | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 138K (better) | 39.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 47.7K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 3.0M kg (better) | 870K 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
Kuala Lumpur vs Puchong: your questions answered
Is Kuala Lumpur cleaner than Puchong?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kuala Lumpur reads AQI 68 against 72, a gap of 4 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Puchong averaged AQI 86 against 88, and it was the cleaner of the two on 1 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kuala Lumpur and Puchong today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Kuala Lumpur reads AQI 68 and Puchong reads AQI 72.
Which has lost more forest, Kuala Lumpur or Puchong?
Puchong has lost more: about 3,860 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,250 ha around Kuala Lumpur. 3,680 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kuala Lumpur or Puchong?
Kuala Lumpur has more tree cover: 44.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.6% around Puchong, or about 137,748 trees against 39,564. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kuala Lumpur and Puchong need?
Kuala Lumpur needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Puchong about 47,709 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 18 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Kuala Lumpur and Puchong 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 Kuala Lumpur vs Puchong 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 15, 2026 and Sep 9, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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