Air quality comparison · Indonesia, 989 km apart
Medan vs Palembang Air quality index (AQI) today
Palembang has cleaner air than Medan right now: AQI 151 (Unhealthy) against 154 (Unhealthy).
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, Palembang averaged AQI 74 against 97, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Palembang has lost more forest since 2001. Palembang has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Medan154Palembang151
Head to head
Medan vs Palembang at a glance
Palembang is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Medan on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Medan | Palembang | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 154 | 151 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 59.4 | 55.5 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 97 | 74 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 505 ha (better) | 5,540 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 15.7% | 24.6% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 76.3K | 48.4K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Medan and Palembang right now?
Palembang has cleaner air than Medan right now: AQI 151 (Unhealthy) against 154 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Medan's PM2.5 is about 4.0× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Palembang's PM2.5 is about 3.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
MedanPalembang
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).
Medan: Ground station · Medan, Indonesia, 20.4 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, BMKG | Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika.
Palembang: Ground station · Talang Betutu Palembang, Indonesia, 5.7 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, BMKG | Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi dan Geofisika.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Palembang averaged AQI 74 against 97, 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
- Medan0Palembang7
- Average AQI
- Medan97Palembang74
- Worst day, AQI
- Medan111Palembang86
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Medan | Palembang |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 93 | 68 |
| Nov 6 | 103 | 66 |
| Nov 7 | 110 | 74 |
| Nov 8 | 104 | 69 |
| Nov 9 | 81 | 76 |
| Nov 10 | 111 | 86 |
| Nov 11 | 79 | 77 |
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 Medan and Palembang today?
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. Both are in the same EPA band today (Unhealthy), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
Windows
Keep them closed.
Masks
Wear an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
Run one.
Against everywhere else
How do Medan and Palembang compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Medan's air is cleaner than 10% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Palembang's is cleaner than 11%. Within Indonesia, that is 15% and 19% of its 156 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Medan
- Beats 10%
- Palembang
- Beats 11%
More tree cover than…
- Medan
- Beats 36%
- Palembang
- Beats 57%
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, Medan or Palembang?
Palembang has lost more: about 5,540 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 505 ha around Medan. 5,180 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: 2014, with 149 ha lost.
Worst year: 2012, with 570 ha lost.
| Medan | Palembang | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 505 ha (better) | 5,540 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 22% (better) | 44% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 499 ha (better) | 5,180 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (50%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (68%) |
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.
Medan
2021: satellite photo from February 2021 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
Palembang
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Medan or Palembang?
Palembang has more tree cover: 24.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 15.7% around Medan, or about 77,283 trees against 49,323.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Medan | Palembang | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 49.3K | 77.3K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 76.3K | 48.4K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.1M kg | 1.7M 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
Medan vs Palembang: your questions answered
Is Palembang cleaner than Medan?
On air quality, yes, right now: Palembang reads AQI 151 against 154, a gap of 3 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, Palembang averaged AQI 74 against 97, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Medan and Palembang today?
The advice is the same for both today. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. Medan reads AQI 154 and Palembang reads AQI 151.
Which has lost more forest, Medan or Palembang?
Palembang has lost more: about 5,540 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 505 ha around Medan. 5,180 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Medan or Palembang?
Palembang has more tree cover: 24.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 15.7% around Medan, or about 77,283 trees against 49,323. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Medan and Palembang need?
Medan needs about 76,341 more to reach its canopy target of 40%, and Palembang about 48,381 to reach 40%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Medan and Palembang 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 come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Medan vs Palembang 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 9, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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