Air quality comparison · Kazakhstan, 159 km apart
Shymkent vs Taraz Air quality index (AQI) today
Shymkent has cleaner air than Taraz right now: AQI 22 (Good) against 46 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Taraz averaged AQI 47 against 60, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Shymkent has lost more forest since 2001. Shymkent has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Shymkent22Taraz46
Head to head
Shymkent vs Taraz at a glance
Shymkent is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Taraz on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Shymkent | Taraz | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 22 (better) | 46 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 3.7 (better) | 7.1 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 60 | 47 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 19 ha | 4 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 22.8% (better) | 19.6% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 22.6K (better) | 32.7K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Shymkent and Taraz right now?
Shymkent has cleaner air than Taraz right now: AQI 22 (Good) against 46 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
ShymkentTaraz
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).
Shymkent: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Taraz: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Taraz averaged AQI 47 against 60, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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
- Shymkent1Taraz5
- Average AQI
- Shymkent60Taraz47
- Worst day, AQI
- Shymkent95Taraz78
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Shymkent | Taraz |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 95 | 78 |
| Nov 6 | 61 | 45 |
| Nov 7 | 56 | 32 |
| Nov 8 | 58 | 28 |
| Nov 9 | 55 | 39 |
| Nov 10 | 34 | 57 |
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 Shymkent and Taraz 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 Shymkent and Taraz compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Shymkent's air is cleaner than 87% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Taraz's is cleaner than 64%. Within Kazakhstan, that is 41% and 9% of its 23 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Shymkent
- Beats 87%
- Taraz
- Beats 64%
More tree cover than…
- Shymkent
- Beats 53%
- Taraz
- Beats 46%
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, Shymkent or Taraz?
Shymkent has lost more: about 19 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 4 ha around Taraz. 15 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: 2007, with 6 ha lost.
Worst year: 2002, with 3 ha lost.
| Shymkent | Taraz | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 19 ha | 4 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 12% | 2.5% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 15 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (79%) | Towns and roads (55%) |
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.
Shymkent
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Taraz
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Shymkent or Taraz?
Shymkent has more tree cover: 22.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.6% around Taraz, or about 71,628 trees against 61,575.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Shymkent | Taraz | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 71.6K (better) | 61.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 22.6K (better) | 32.7K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.6M kg (better) | 1.4M 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
Shymkent vs Taraz: your questions answered
Is Shymkent cleaner than Taraz?
On air quality, yes, right now: Shymkent reads AQI 22 against 46, a gap of 24 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Taraz averaged AQI 47 against 60, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Shymkent and Taraz today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Shymkent reads AQI 22 and Taraz reads AQI 46.
Which has lost more forest, Shymkent or Taraz?
Shymkent has lost more: about 19 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 4 ha around Taraz. 15 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Shymkent or Taraz?
Shymkent has more tree cover: 22.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 19.6% around Taraz, or about 71,628 trees against 61,575. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Shymkent and Taraz need?
Shymkent needs about 22,619 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Taraz about 32,673 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Shymkent and Taraz 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 Shymkent vs Taraz 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 22, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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