Air quality comparison · Algeria, 57 km apart
Oran vs Sidi Bel Abbes Air quality index (AQI) today
Sidi Bel Abbes has cleaner air than Oran right now: AQI 35 (Good) against 55 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Sidi Bel Abbes averaged AQI 39 against 50, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Oran has lost more forest since 2001. Oran has more tree cover.
Algeria
AQI 55
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 11.9 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 06:00 local
Algeria
AQI 35
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 7.3 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 18:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Oran55Sidi Bel Abbes35
Head to head
Oran vs Sidi Bel Abbes at a glance
Sidi Bel Abbes is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Oran on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Oran | Sidi Bel Abbes | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 55 | 35 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.9 | 7.3 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 50 | 39 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 28 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 4.8% (better) | 4.4% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 70.7K (better) | 80.4K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Oran and Sidi Bel Abbes right now?
Sidi Bel Abbes has cleaner air than Oran right now: AQI 35 (Good) against 55 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
OranSidi Bel Abbes
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).
Oran: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Almería and Cartagena. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index.
Sidi Bel Abbes: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 250 km, e.g. Nador and Almería. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Sidi Bel Abbes averaged AQI 39 against 50, 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
- Oran0Sidi Bel Abbes6
- Average AQI
- Oran50Sidi Bel Abbes39
- Worst day, AQI
- Oran55Sidi Bel Abbes45
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Oran | Sidi Bel Abbes |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 40 | 30 |
| Nov 6 | 51 | 37 |
| Nov 7 | 50 | 45 |
| Nov 8 | 53 | 40 |
| Nov 9 | 55 | 40 |
| Nov 10 | 52 | 41 |
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 Oran and Sidi Bel Abbes today?
Oran (AQI 55, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Sidi Bel Abbes (AQI 35, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Oran
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Sidi Bel Abbes
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Oran
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Sidi Bel Abbes
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Oran
- Not needed for most people.
- Sidi Bel Abbes
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Oran
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Sidi Bel Abbes
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Oran and Sidi Bel Abbes compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Oran's air is cleaner than 54% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Sidi Bel Abbes's is cleaner than 74%. Within Algeria, that is 10% and 97% of its 40 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Oran
- Beats 54%
- Sidi Bel Abbes
- Beats 74%
More tree cover than…
- Oran
- Beats 10%
- Sidi Bel Abbes
- 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.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Oran or Sidi Bel Abbes?
Oran has lost more: about 28 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Sidi Bel Abbes. 6 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: 2025, with 4 ha lost.
Worst year: 2007, with under 1 ha lost.
| Oran | Sidi Bel Abbes | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 28 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 6 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Wildfires (63%) | 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.
Oran
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Sidi Bel Abbes
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Oran or Sidi Bel Abbes?
Oran has more tree cover: 4.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.4% around Sidi Bel Abbes, or about 13,466 trees against 13,823.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Oran | Sidi Bel Abbes | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 13.5K | 13.8K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 70.7K (better) | 80.4K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 296K kg | 304K 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
Oran vs Sidi Bel Abbes: your questions answered
Is Sidi Bel Abbes cleaner than Oran?
On air quality, yes, right now: Sidi Bel Abbes reads AQI 35 against 55, a gap of 20 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, Sidi Bel Abbes averaged AQI 39 against 50, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Oran and Sidi Bel Abbes today?
In Oran, at AQI 55: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Sidi Bel Abbes, at AQI 35: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Oran or Sidi Bel Abbes?
Oran has lost more: about 28 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Sidi Bel Abbes. 6 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Oran or Sidi Bel Abbes?
Oran has more tree cover: 4.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.4% around Sidi Bel Abbes, or about 13,466 trees against 13,823. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Oran and Sidi Bel Abbes need?
Oran needs about 70,697 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Sidi Bel Abbes about 80,425 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 57 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Oran and Sidi Bel Abbes 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 Oran vs Sidi Bel Abbes 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 15, 2026 and Sep 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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