Air quality comparison · Benin, 316 km apart
Parakou vs Porto-Novo Air quality index (AQI) today
Parakou has cleaner air than Porto-Novo right now: AQI 67 (Moderate) against 128 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, both averaged AQI 63. Porto-Novo has lost more forest since 2001. Parakou has more tree cover.
Benin
AQI 67
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 17.7 µg/m³1.2× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 21:00 local
Benin
AQI 128
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 55.3 µg/m³3.7× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 21:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Parakou67Porto-Novo128
Head to head
Parakou vs Porto-Novo at a glance
Parakou is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Porto-Novo on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Parakou | Porto-Novo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 67 (better) | 128 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 17.7 (better) | 55.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 63 | 63 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | under 1 ha (better) | 57 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 19.3% (better) | 12.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 33.6K (better) | 71.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Parakou and Porto-Novo right now?
Parakou has cleaner air than Porto-Novo right now: AQI 67 (Moderate) against 128 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Parakou's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Porto-Novo's PM2.5 is about 3.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
ParakouPorto-Novo
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).
Parakou: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Porto-Novo: Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 85 km, e.g. Ojo, Lagos, Nigeria and Ota. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 85 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, both averaged AQI 63. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Parakou2Porto-Novo4
- Average AQI
- Parakou63Porto-Novo63
- Worst day, AQI
- Parakou68Porto-Novo67
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Parakou | Porto-Novo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 64 | 63 |
| Nov 5 | 63 | 59 |
| Nov 6 | 61 | 62 |
| Nov 7 | 68 | 62 |
| Nov 8 | 67 | 66 |
| Nov 9 | 62 | 67 |
| Nov 10 | 59 | 59 |
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 Parakou and Porto-Novo today?
Parakou (AQI 67, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Porto-Novo (AQI 128, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Parakou
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Porto-Novo
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Parakou
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Porto-Novo
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Parakou
- Not needed for most people.
- Porto-Novo
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Parakou
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Porto-Novo
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Parakou and Porto-Novo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Parakou's air is cleaner than 40% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Porto-Novo's is cleaner than 14%. Within Benin, that is 100% and 0% of its 6 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Parakou
- Beats 40%
- Porto-Novo
- Beats 14%
More tree cover than…
- Parakou
- Beats 45%
- Porto-Novo
- Beats 27%
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, Parakou or Porto-Novo?
Porto-Novo has lost more: about 57 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Parakou. 54 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: 2001, with under 1 ha lost.
Worst year: 2012, with 14 ha lost.
| Parakou | Porto-Novo | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | under 1 ha (better) | 57 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 54 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (100%) | Towns and roads (64%) |
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.
Parakou
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Porto-Novo
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Parakou or Porto-Novo?
Parakou has more tree cover: 19.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.3% around Porto-Novo, or about 60,633 trees against 38,642.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Parakou | Porto-Novo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 60.6K (better) | 38.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 33.6K (better) | 71.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.3M kg (better) | 850K 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
Parakou vs Porto-Novo: your questions answered
Is Parakou cleaner than Porto-Novo?
On air quality, yes, right now: Parakou reads AQI 67 against 128, a gap of 61 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, both averaged AQI 63.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Parakou and Porto-Novo today?
In Parakou, at AQI 67: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Porto-Novo, at AQI 128: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Parakou or Porto-Novo?
Porto-Novo has lost more: about 57 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Parakou. 54 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Parakou or Porto-Novo?
Parakou has more tree cover: 19.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.3% around Porto-Novo, or about 60,633 trees against 38,642. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Parakou and Porto-Novo need?
Parakou needs about 33,615 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Porto-Novo about 71,314 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Parakou and Porto-Novo 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 Parakou vs Porto-Novo 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 (Oct 24, 2026 and Oct 1, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Parakou with somewhere else
This place
Parakou