Air quality comparison · Angola, 242 km apart
Luena vs Saurimo Air quality index (AQI) today
Saurimo has cleaner air than Luena right now: AQI 48 (Good) against 54 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Saurimo averaged AQI 44 against 48, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Luena has lost more forest since 2001. Saurimo has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Luena54Saurimo48
Head to head
Luena vs Saurimo at a glance
Saurimo is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Luena on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Luena | Saurimo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 54 | 48 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.4 | 9.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 48 | 44 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 827 ha | 276 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 16.5% | 18.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 42.4K | 37.4K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Luena and Saurimo right now?
Saurimo has cleaner air than Luena right now: AQI 48 (Good) against 54 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
LuenaSaurimo
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).
Luena: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Saurimo: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Saurimo averaged AQI 44 against 48, 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
- Luena2Saurimo5
- Average AQI
- Luena48Saurimo44
- Worst day, AQI
- Luena59Saurimo59
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Luena | Saurimo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 43 | 47 |
| Nov 5 | 57 | 59 |
| Nov 6 | 58 | 50 |
| Nov 7 | 59 | 57 |
| Nov 8 | 54 | 38 |
| Nov 9 | 22 | 20 |
| Nov 10 | 45 | 37 |
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 Luena and Saurimo today?
Luena (AQI 54, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Saurimo (AQI 48, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Luena
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Saurimo
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Luena
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Saurimo
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Luena
- Not needed for most people.
- Saurimo
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Luena
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Saurimo
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Luena and Saurimo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Luena's air is cleaner than 55% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Saurimo's is cleaner than 63%. Within Angola, that is 21% and 56% of its 35 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Luena
- Beats 55%
- Saurimo
- Beats 63%
More tree cover than…
- Luena
- Beats 38%
- Saurimo
- Beats 42%
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, Luena or Saurimo?
Luena has lost more: about 827 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 276 ha around Saurimo. 743 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: 2010, with 292 ha lost.
Worst year: 2005, with 115 ha lost.
| Luena | Saurimo | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 827 ha | 276 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 58% | 22% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 743 ha | 267 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (84%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (93%) |
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.
Luena
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
Saurimo
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Luena or Saurimo?
Saurimo has more tree cover: 18.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 16.5% around Luena, or about 56,863 trees against 51,836.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Luena | Saurimo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 51.8K | 56.9K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 42.4K | 37.4K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.1M kg | 1.3M 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
Luena vs Saurimo: your questions answered
Is Saurimo cleaner than Luena?
On air quality, yes, right now: Saurimo reads AQI 48 against 54, a gap of 6 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, Saurimo averaged AQI 44 against 48, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Luena and Saurimo today?
In Luena, at AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Saurimo, at AQI 48: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Luena or Saurimo?
Luena has lost more: about 827 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 276 ha around Saurimo. 743 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Luena or Saurimo?
Saurimo has more tree cover: 18.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 16.5% around Luena, or about 56,863 trees against 51,836. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Luena and Saurimo need?
Luena needs about 42,411 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Saurimo about 37,385 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Luena and Saurimo 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 are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Luena vs Saurimo 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 (Oct 19, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Build your own
Compare Luena with somewhere else
This place
Luena