Air quality comparison · Iran, 1195 km apart
Mashhad vs Tabriz Air quality index (AQI) today
Mashhad has cleaner air than Tabriz right now: AQI 23 (Good) against 46 (Good).
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, Tabriz averaged AQI 40 against 91, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Mashhad has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Mashhad23Tabriz46
Head to head
Mashhad vs Tabriz at a glance
Mashhad is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Tabriz on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Mashhad | Tabriz | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 23 (better) | 46 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 5.7 (better) | 8.5 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 91 | 40 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 5.1% (better) | 4.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 78.2K (better) | 80.7K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Mashhad and Tabriz right now?
Mashhad has cleaner air than Tabriz right now: AQI 23 (Good) against 46 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
MashhadTabriz
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).
Mashhad: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Tabriz: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Tabriz averaged AQI 40 against 91, 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
- Mashhad1Tabriz5
- Average AQI
- Mashhad91Tabriz40
- Worst day, AQI
- Mashhad106Tabriz61
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Mashhad | Tabriz |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 106 | 50 |
| Nov 6 | 99 | 49 |
| Nov 7 | 105 | 24 |
| Nov 8 | 91 | 26 |
| Nov 9 | 93 | 31 |
| Nov 10 | 53 | 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 Mashhad and Tabriz 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 Mashhad and Tabriz compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Mashhad's air is cleaner than 86% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Tabriz's is cleaner than 65%. Within Iran, that is 85% and 68% of its 97 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Mashhad
- Beats 86%
- Tabriz
- Beats 65%
More tree cover than…
- Mashhad
- Beats 10%
- Tabriz
- Beats 9%
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.
Mashhad
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Tabriz
2018: satellite photo from June 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Mashhad or Tabriz?
Mashhad has more tree cover: 5.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.3% around Tabriz, or about 16,022 trees against 13,509.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Mashhad | Tabriz | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 16.0K (better) | 13.5K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 78.2K (better) | 80.7K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 352K kg (better) | 297K 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
Mashhad vs Tabriz: your questions answered
Is Mashhad cleaner than Tabriz?
On air quality, yes, right now: Mashhad reads AQI 23 against 46, a gap of 23 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, Tabriz averaged AQI 40 against 91, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Mashhad and Tabriz today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Mashhad reads AQI 23 and Tabriz reads AQI 46.
Which has more trees, Mashhad or Tabriz?
Mashhad has more tree cover: 5.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.3% around Tabriz, or about 16,022 trees against 13,509. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Mashhad and Tabriz need?
Mashhad needs about 78,226 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Tabriz about 80,739 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Mashhad and Tabriz 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 Mashhad vs Tabriz 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 19, 2026 and Sep 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Mashhad with somewhere else
This place
Mashhad