Air quality comparison · Uzbekistan, 261 km apart
Samarkand vs Tashkent Air quality index (AQI) today
Samarkand has cleaner air than Tashkent right now: AQI 17 (Good) against 37 (Good).
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, Samarkand averaged AQI 50 against 68, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Tashkent has lost more forest since 2001. Tashkent has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Samarkand17Tashkent37
Head to head
Samarkand vs Tashkent at a glance
Samarkand is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Tashkent on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Samarkand | Tashkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 17 (better) | 37 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 2.6 (better) | 6.6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 50 (better) | 68 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 7 ha (better) | 55 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 12.4% | 16.0% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 55.3K | 43.9K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Samarkand and Tashkent right now?
Samarkand has cleaner air than Tashkent right now: AQI 17 (Good) against 37 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Tashkent is read from a nearby ground station and Samarkand is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
SamarkandTashkent
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).
Samarkand: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Tashkent: Ground station · Tashkent Chilanzar, Uzbekistan, 5.5 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, World Meteorological Organization - surface synoptic observations (WMO-SYNOP), Uzhydromet - Center for Hydrometeorological Service of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Samarkand averaged AQI 50 against 68, 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
- Samarkand6Tashkent0
- Average AQI
- Samarkand50Tashkent68
- Worst day, AQI
- Samarkand65Tashkent97
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Samarkand | Tashkent |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 65 | 97 |
| Nov 6 | 51 | 71 |
| Nov 7 | 56 | 69 |
| Nov 8 | 49 | 57 |
| Nov 9 | 52 | 64 |
| Nov 10 | 28 | 52 |
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 Samarkand and Tashkent today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Samarkand and Tashkent compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Samarkand's air is cleaner than 92% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Tashkent's is cleaner than 73%. Within Uzbekistan, that is 79% and 42% of its 20 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Samarkand
- Beats 92%
- Tashkent
- Beats 73%
More tree cover than…
- Samarkand
- Beats 27%
- Tashkent
- Beats 37%
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, Samarkand or Tashkent?
Tashkent has lost more: about 55 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Samarkand. 44 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 3 ha lost.
Worst year: 2009, with 20 ha lost.
| Samarkand | Tashkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 7 ha (better) | 55 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.5% (better) | 4.5% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 3 ha (better) | 44 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (29%) | Towns and roads (78%) |
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.
Samarkand
2018: satellite photo from September 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Tashkent
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Samarkand or Tashkent?
Tashkent has more tree cover: 16.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.4% around Samarkand, or about 50,165 trees against 38,956.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Samarkand | Tashkent | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 39.0K | 50.2K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 55.3K | 43.9K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 857K kg | 1.1M 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
Samarkand vs Tashkent: your questions answered
Is Samarkand cleaner than Tashkent?
On air quality, yes, right now: Samarkand reads AQI 17 against 37, 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, Samarkand averaged AQI 50 against 68, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Samarkand and Tashkent today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Samarkand reads AQI 17 and Tashkent reads AQI 37.
Which has lost more forest, Samarkand or Tashkent?
Tashkent has lost more: about 55 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 7 ha around Samarkand. 44 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Samarkand or Tashkent?
Tashkent has more tree cover: 16.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.4% around Samarkand, or about 50,165 trees against 38,956. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Samarkand and Tashkent need?
Samarkand needs about 55,292 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Tashkent about 43,894 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Samarkand and Tashkent 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. Tashkent is read from a nearby ground station and Samarkand 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 Samarkand vs Tashkent 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 17, 2026 and Sep 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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