Air quality comparison · Saudi Arabia, 719 km apart
Madinah vs Riyadh Air quality index (AQI) today
Riyadh has cleaner air than Madinah right now: AQI 61 (Moderate) against 175 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Madinah averaged AQI 99 against 610, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Riyadh has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Madinah175Riyadh61
Head to head
Madinah vs Riyadh at a glance
Riyadh is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Madinah on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Madinah | Riyadh | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 175 | 61 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 102 | 14.6 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 99 (better) | 610 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.6% | 2.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 121K | 87.3K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Madinah and Riyadh right now?
Riyadh has cleaner air than Madinah right now: AQI 61 (Moderate) against 175 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Madinah's PM2.5 is about 6.8× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Riyadh is read from a nearby ground station and Madinah is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
MadinahRiyadh
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).
Madinah: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Riyadh: Ground station · Riyadh, 20.1 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, luckylux.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Madinah averaged AQI 99 against 610, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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
- Madinah6Riyadh0
- Average AQI
- Madinah99Riyadh610
- Worst day, AQI
- Madinah163Riyadh854
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Madinah | Riyadh |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 87 | 409 |
| Nov 6 | 100 | 637 |
| Nov 7 | 80 | 854 |
| Nov 8 | 70 | 397 |
| Nov 9 | 93 | 526 |
| Nov 10 | 163 | 838 |
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 Madinah and Riyadh today?
Madinah (AQI 175, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Riyadh (AQI 61, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Madinah
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
- Riyadh
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Madinah
- Keep them closed.
- Riyadh
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Madinah
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
- Riyadh
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Madinah
- Run one.
- Riyadh
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Madinah and Riyadh compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Madinah's air is cleaner than 5% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Riyadh's is cleaner than 46%. Within Saudi Arabia, that is 4% and 54% of its 27 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Madinah
- Beats 5%
- Riyadh
- Beats 46%
More tree cover than…
- Madinah
- Beats 3%
- Riyadh
- Beats 5%
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.
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.
Madinah
2018: satellite photo from July 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Riyadh
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Madinah or Riyadh?
Riyadh has more tree cover: 2.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.6% around Madinah, or about 6,912 trees against 5,027.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Madinah | Riyadh | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 5.0K | 6.9K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 121K | 87.3K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 111K kg | 152K 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
Madinah vs Riyadh: your questions answered
Is Riyadh cleaner than Madinah?
On air quality, yes, right now: Riyadh reads AQI 61 against 175, a gap of 114 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, Madinah averaged AQI 99 against 610, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Madinah and Riyadh today?
In Madinah, at AQI 175: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. In Riyadh, at AQI 61: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has more trees, Madinah or Riyadh?
Riyadh has more tree cover: 2.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.6% around Madinah, or about 6,912 trees against 5,027. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Madinah and Riyadh need?
Madinah needs about 120,637 more to reach its canopy target of 40%, and Riyadh about 87,336 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Madinah and Riyadh 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. Riyadh is read from a nearby ground station and Madinah 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 Madinah vs Riyadh 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 17, 2026 and Sep 16, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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