Air quality comparison · Japan, 1059 km apart
Osaka vs Sapporo Air quality index (AQI) today
Sapporo has cleaner air than Osaka right now: AQI 39 (Good) against 58 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Sapporo averaged AQI 38 against 60, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Sapporo has lost more forest since 2001. Sapporo has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Osaka58Sapporo39
Head to head
Osaka vs Sapporo at a glance
Sapporo is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Osaka on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Osaka | Sapporo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 58 | 39 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 13.1 | 7.1 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 60 | 38 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 2 ha (better) | 106 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 2.7% | 10.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 72.0K | 62.2K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Osaka and Sapporo right now?
Sapporo has cleaner air than Osaka right now: AQI 39 (Good) against 58 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
OsakaSapporo
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).
Osaka: Ground station · Kumata, Osaka Prefecture, Japan (杭全町交差点大阪市東住吉区), 6.8 km away · median of 3 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Japan Atmospheric Environmental Regional Observation System (環境省大気汚染物質広域監視システム), Ozaka, Japan Environment Agency (大阪府 大気汚染監視).
Sapporo: Ground station · Kita 33 Johigashi, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan (東１８丁目札幌市東区), 4.5 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Japan Atmospheric Environmental Regional Observation System (環境省大気汚染物質広域監視システム), Sapporo atmospheric environment observation data breaking system (札幌市大気環境観測データ速報システム).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Sapporo averaged AQI 38 against 60, 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
- Osaka1Sapporo6
- Average AQI
- Osaka60Sapporo38
- Worst day, AQI
- Osaka78Sapporo51
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Osaka | Sapporo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 77 | 51 |
| Nov 6 | 54 | 17 |
| Nov 7 | 52 | 35 |
| Nov 8 | 54 | 34 |
| Nov 9 | 78 | 34 |
| Nov 10 | 42 | 44 |
| Nov 11 | 66 | 48 |
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 Osaka and Sapporo today?
Osaka (AQI 58, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Sapporo (AQI 39, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Osaka
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Sapporo
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Osaka
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Sapporo
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Osaka
- Not needed for most people.
- Sapporo
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Osaka
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Sapporo
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Osaka and Sapporo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Osaka's air is cleaner than 50% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Sapporo's is cleaner than 71%. Within Japan, that is 1% and 44% of its 207 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Osaka
- Beats 50%
- Sapporo
- Beats 71%
More tree cover than…
- Osaka
- Beats 6%
- Sapporo
- Beats 21%
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, Osaka or Sapporo?
Sapporo has lost more: about 106 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2 ha around Osaka. 29 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: 2002, with 1 ha lost.
Worst year: 2004, with 40 ha lost.
| Osaka | Sapporo | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2 ha (better) | 106 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 1.9% | 1.6% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1 ha (better) | 29 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (64%) | Logging (63%) |
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.
Osaka
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Sapporo
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Osaka or Sapporo?
Sapporo has more tree cover: 10.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 2.7% around Osaka, or about 31,571 trees against 7,117.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Osaka | Sapporo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 7.1K | 31.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 72.0K | 62.2K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 157K kg | 695K 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
Osaka vs Sapporo: your questions answered
Is Sapporo cleaner than Osaka?
On air quality, yes, right now: Sapporo reads AQI 39 against 58, a gap of 19 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, Sapporo averaged AQI 38 against 60, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Osaka and Sapporo today?
In Osaka, at AQI 58: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Sapporo, at AQI 39: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Osaka or Sapporo?
Sapporo has lost more: about 106 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2 ha around Osaka. 29 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Osaka or Sapporo?
Sapporo has more tree cover: 10.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 2.7% around Osaka, or about 31,571 trees against 7,117. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Osaka and Sapporo need?
Osaka needs about 71,957 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Sapporo about 62,205 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Osaka and Sapporo 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 Osaka vs Sapporo 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 (Aug 25, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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