Air quality comparison · Lesotho, 63 km apart
Maputsoe vs Maseru Air quality index (AQI) today
Maseru has cleaner air than Maputsoe right now: AQI 29 (Good) against 42 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maputsoe averaged AQI 40 against 41, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days. Maputsoe has lost more forest since 2001. Maseru has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Maputsoe42Maseru29
Head to head
Maputsoe vs Maseru at a glance
Maseru is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Maputsoe on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Maputsoe | Maseru | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 42 | 29 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6 | 5.2 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 40 (better) | 41 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 33 ha | 12 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 11.4% | 15.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 58.4K | 44.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Maputsoe and Maseru right now?
Maseru has cleaner air than Maputsoe right now: AQI 29 (Good) against 42 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Maseru is read from a nearby ground station and Maputsoe is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
MaputsoeMaseru
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).
Maputsoe: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Maseru and Sasolburg. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
Maseru: Ground station · Botsabelo MDR-TB Hospital, 5 km away. Data: OpenAQ · Clarity.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maputsoe averaged AQI 40 against 41, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 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
- Maputsoe2Maseru4
- Average AQI
- Maputsoe40Maseru41
- Worst day, AQI
- Maputsoe61Maseru61
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Maputsoe | Maseru |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 46 | 44 |
| Nov 6 | 35 | 28 |
| Nov 7 | 29 | 20 |
| Nov 8 | 26 | 43 |
| Nov 9 | 28 | 37 |
| Nov 10 | 56 | 55 |
| Nov 11 | 61 | 61 |
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 Maputsoe and Maseru today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Maputsoe and Maseru compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Maputsoe's air is cleaner than 68% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Maseru's is cleaner than 80%. Within Lesotho, that is 0% and 25% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Maputsoe
- Beats 68%
- Maseru
- Beats 80%
More tree cover than…
- Maputsoe
- Beats 25%
- Maseru
- Beats 36%
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, Maputsoe or Maseru?
Maputsoe has lost more: about 33 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 12 ha around Maseru. 25 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: 2016, with 18 ha lost.
Worst year: 2019, with 4 ha lost.
| Maputsoe | Maseru | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 33 ha | 12 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 16% | 9.5% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 25 ha | 10 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 (73%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (66%) |
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.
Maputsoe
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Maseru
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Maputsoe or Maseru?
Maseru has more tree cover: 15.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 11.4% around Maputsoe, or about 49,637 trees against 35,814.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Maputsoe | Maseru | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 35.8K | 49.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 58.4K | 44.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 788K kg | 1.1M 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
Maputsoe vs Maseru: your questions answered
Is Maseru cleaner than Maputsoe?
On air quality, yes, right now: Maseru reads AQI 29 against 42, 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. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maputsoe averaged AQI 40 against 41, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Maputsoe and Maseru today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Maputsoe reads AQI 42 and Maseru reads AQI 29.
Which has lost more forest, Maputsoe or Maseru?
Maputsoe has lost more: about 33 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 12 ha around Maseru. 25 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Maputsoe or Maseru?
Maseru has more tree cover: 15.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 11.4% around Maputsoe, or about 49,637 trees against 35,814. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Maputsoe and Maseru need?
Maputsoe needs about 58,434 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Maseru about 44,611 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Maputsoe and Maseru 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. Maseru is read from a nearby ground station and Maputsoe 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 Maputsoe vs Maseru 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 12, 2026 and Sep 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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