Air quality comparison · Pakistan, 35 km apart
Sahiwal vs Sargodha Air quality index (AQI) today
Sahiwal has cleaner air than Sargodha right now: AQI 564 (Hazardous) against 638 (Hazardous).
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, Sahiwal averaged AQI 183 against 212, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Sahiwal has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Sahiwal564Sargodha638
Head to head
Sahiwal vs Sargodha at a glance
Sahiwal is ahead on 5 of 5 measures, and Sargodha on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Sahiwal | Sargodha | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 564 (better) | 638 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 354.4 (better) | 394.6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 183 (better) | 212 |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 13.4% (better) | 12.7% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 99.3K (better) | 101K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Sahiwal and Sargodha right now?
Sahiwal has cleaner air than Sargodha right now: AQI 564 (Hazardous) against 638 (Hazardous). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Sahiwal's PM2.5 is about 24× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Sargodha's PM2.5 is about 26× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Sargodha is read from a nearby ground station and Sahiwal is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
SahiwalSargodha
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).
Sahiwal: Estimate · model corrected with 5 station cities within 145 km, e.g. Sargodha and Jhang. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index.
Sargodha: Ground station · Qasim Park University Road , 2.7 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Hawanama, The Urban Unit.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Sahiwal averaged AQI 183 against 212, 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
- Sahiwal7Sargodha0
- Average AQI
- Sahiwal183Sargodha212
- Worst day, AQI
- Sahiwal257Sargodha307
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Sahiwal | Sargodha |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 169 | 197 |
| Nov 6 | 117 | 139 |
| Nov 7 | 104 | 118 |
| Nov 8 | 173 | 194 |
| Nov 9 | 216 | 230 |
| Nov 10 | 248 | 299 |
| Nov 11 | 257 | 307 |
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 Sahiwal and Sargodha today?
Emergency conditions — avoid outdoor activity. Both are in the same EPA band today (Hazardous), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion.
Windows
Keep them closed and seal gaps.
Masks
Wear an N95 if you must go out.
Air purifier
Run one on high.
Against everywhere else
How do Sahiwal and Sargodha compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Sahiwal's air is cleaner than 0% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Sargodha's is cleaner than 0%. Within Pakistan, that is 14% and 8% of its 127 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Sahiwal
- Beats 0%
- Sargodha
- Beats 0%
More tree cover than…
- Sahiwal
- Beats 30%
- Sargodha
- Beats 28%
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.
Sahiwal
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Sargodha
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Sahiwal or Sargodha?
Sahiwal has more tree cover: 13.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.7% around Sargodha, or about 42,097 trees against 39,898.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Sahiwal | Sargodha | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 42.1K (better) | 39.9K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 99.3K (better) | 101K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 926K kg (better) | 878K 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
Sahiwal vs Sargodha: your questions answered
Is Sahiwal cleaner than Sargodha?
On air quality, yes, right now: Sahiwal reads AQI 564 against 638, a gap of 74 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, Sahiwal averaged AQI 183 against 212, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Sahiwal and Sargodha today?
The advice is the same for both today. Emergency conditions — avoid outdoor activity. Sahiwal reads AQI 564 and Sargodha reads AQI 638.
Which has more trees, Sahiwal or Sargodha?
Sahiwal has more tree cover: 13.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.7% around Sargodha, or about 42,097 trees against 39,898. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Sahiwal and Sargodha need?
Sahiwal needs about 99,274 more to reach its canopy target of 45%, and Sargodha about 101,473 to reach 45%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 35 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 Sahiwal and Sargodha 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. Sargodha is read from a nearby ground station and Sahiwal is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Sahiwal vs Sargodha 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 11, 2026 and Sep 11, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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