Air quality comparison · Lesotho, 93 km apart
Maseru vs Mohale's Hoek Air quality index (AQI) today
Mohale's Hoek has cleaner air than Maseru right now: AQI 18 (Good) against 29 (Good).
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, Mohale's Hoek averaged AQI 20 against 41, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Maseru has lost more forest since 2001. Mohale's Hoek has more tree cover.
Lesotho
AQI 29
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 5.2 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 18:07 local
Lesotho
AQI 18
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 2.9 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 07:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Maseru29Mohale's Hoek18
Head to head
Maseru vs Mohale's Hoek at a glance
Mohale's Hoek is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Maseru on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Maseru | Mohale's Hoek | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 29 | 18 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 5.2 | 2.9 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 41 | 20 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 12 ha | 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 15.8% | 22.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 44.6K | 24.8K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Maseru and Mohale's Hoek right now?
Mohale's Hoek has cleaner air than Maseru right now: AQI 18 (Good) against 29 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Maseru is read from a nearby ground station and Mohale's Hoek is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
MaseruMohale's Hoek
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).
Maseru: Ground station · Botsabelo MDR-TB Hospital, 5 km away. Data: OpenAQ · Clarity.
Mohale's Hoek: 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, Mohale's Hoek averaged AQI 20 against 41, 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
- Maseru0Mohale's Hoek7
- Average AQI
- Maseru41Mohale's Hoek20
- Worst day, AQI
- Maseru61Mohale's Hoek33
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Maseru | Mohale's Hoek |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 44 | 29 |
| Nov 6 | 28 | 18 |
| Nov 7 | 20 | 10 |
| Nov 8 | 43 | 10 |
| Nov 9 | 37 | 17 |
| Nov 10 | 55 | 33 |
| Nov 11 | 61 | 22 |
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 Maseru and Mohale's Hoek 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 Maseru and Mohale's Hoek compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Maseru's air is cleaner than 80% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Mohale's Hoek's is cleaner than 90%. Within Lesotho, that is 50% and 75% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Maseru
- Beats 80%
- Mohale's Hoek
- Beats 90%
More tree cover than…
- Maseru
- Beats 36%
- Mohale's Hoek
- Beats 51%
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, Maseru or Mohale's Hoek?
Maseru has lost more: about 12 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1 ha around Mohale's Hoek. 10 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: 2019, with 4 ha lost.
Worst year: 2022, with under 1 ha lost.
| Maseru | Mohale's Hoek | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 12 ha | 1 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 10 ha | under 1 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 (66%) | Not classified |
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.
Maseru
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Mohale's Hoek
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Maseru or Mohale's Hoek?
Mohale's Hoek has more tree cover: 22.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 15.8% around Maseru, or about 69,290 trees against 49,637.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Maseru | Mohale's Hoek | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 49.6K | 69.3K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 44.6K | 24.8K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.1M kg | 1.5M 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
Maseru vs Mohale's Hoek: your questions answered
Is Mohale's Hoek cleaner than Maseru?
On air quality, yes, right now: Mohale's Hoek reads AQI 18 against 29, 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, Mohale's Hoek averaged AQI 20 against 41, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Maseru and Mohale's Hoek today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Maseru reads AQI 29 and Mohale's Hoek reads AQI 18.
Which has lost more forest, Maseru or Mohale's Hoek?
Maseru has lost more: about 12 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1 ha around Mohale's Hoek. 10 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Maseru or Mohale's Hoek?
Mohale's Hoek has more tree cover: 22.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 15.8% around Maseru, or about 69,290 trees against 49,637. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Maseru and Mohale's Hoek need?
Maseru needs about 44,611 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Mohale's Hoek about 24,769 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Maseru and Mohale's Hoek 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 Mohale's Hoek 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 Maseru vs Mohale's Hoek 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 Mar 11, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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