Air quality comparison · Cabo Verde, 268 km apart
Mindelo vs Praia Air quality index (AQI) today
Mindelo has cleaner air than Praia right now: AQI 68 (Moderate) against 73 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Mindelo averaged AQI 63 against 69, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Praia has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Mindelo68Praia73
Head to head
Mindelo vs Praia at a glance
Mindelo is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Praia on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Mindelo | Praia | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 68 (better) | 73 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 16.8 (better) | 19.8 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 63 (better) | 69 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 0.7% | 1.7% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 79.4K (better) | 88.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Mindelo and Praia right now?
Mindelo has cleaner air than Praia right now: AQI 68 (Moderate) against 73 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Mindelo's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Praia's PM2.5 is about 1.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
MindeloPraia
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).
Mindelo: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Praia: 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?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Mindelo averaged AQI 63 against 69, 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
- Mindelo6Praia0
- Average AQI
- Mindelo63Praia69
- Worst day, AQI
- Mindelo70Praia78
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Mindelo | Praia |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 60 | 64 |
| Nov 6 | 60 | 64 |
| Nov 7 | 62 | 63 |
| Nov 8 | 59 | 72 |
| Nov 9 | 66 | 78 |
| Nov 10 | 70 | 75 |
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 Mindelo and Praia today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Mindelo and Praia compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Mindelo's air is cleaner than 39% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Praia's is cleaner than 35%.
Cleaner air than…
- Mindelo
- Beats 39%
- Praia
- Beats 35%
More tree cover than…
- Mindelo
- Beats 1%
- Praia
- Beats 3%
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.
Mindelo
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Praia
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Mindelo or Praia?
Praia has more tree cover: 1.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.7% around Mindelo, or about 5,298 trees against 1,898.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Mindelo | Praia | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 1.9K | 5.3K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 79.4K (better) | 88.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 41.8K kg | 117K 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
Mindelo vs Praia: your questions answered
Is Mindelo cleaner than Praia?
On air quality, yes, right now: Mindelo reads AQI 68 against 73, a gap of 5 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Mindelo averaged AQI 63 against 69, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Mindelo and Praia today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Mindelo reads AQI 68 and Praia reads AQI 73.
Which has more trees, Mindelo or Praia?
Praia has more tree cover: 1.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.7% around Mindelo, or about 5,298 trees against 1,898. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Mindelo and Praia need?
Mindelo needs about 79,438 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Praia about 88,196 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Mindelo and Praia 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 Mindelo vs Praia 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 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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