Air quality comparison · Taiwan, 132 km apart
Taichung vs Taipei Air quality index (AQI) today
Taipei has cleaner air than Taichung right now: AQI 32 (Good) against 65 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Taipei averaged AQI 68 against 100, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Taichung has lost more forest since 2001. Taipei has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Taichung65Taipei32
Head to head
Taichung vs Taipei at a glance
Taipei is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Taichung on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Taichung | Taipei | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 65 | 32 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 16.5 | 4 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 100 | 68 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 201 ha | 55 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 9.9% | 13.7% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 63.1K | 51.1K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Taichung and Taipei right now?
Taipei has cleaner air than Taichung right now: AQI 32 (Good) against 65 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in Taichung, and Ozone in Taipei.
Taichung's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
TaichungTaipei
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).
Taichung: Ground station · 臺中市 - 臺灣大道, 3.1 km away · median of 4 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Taiwan, Ministry of Environment, Taiwan (Open Government Data License 1.0).
Taipei: Ground station · 新北市 - 菜寮, 4.9 km away · median of 12 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Taiwan, Ministry of Environment, Taiwan (Open Government Data License 1.0).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Taipei averaged AQI 68 against 100, 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
- Taichung0Taipei7
- Average AQI
- Taichung100Taipei68
- Worst day, AQI
- Taichung131Taipei102
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Taichung | Taipei |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 114 | 102 |
| Nov 6 | 131 | 60 |
| Nov 7 | 114 | 67 |
| Nov 8 | 109 | 64 |
| Nov 9 | 69 | 61 |
| Nov 10 | 66 | 63 |
| Nov 11 | 99 | 62 |
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 Taichung and Taipei today?
Taichung (AQI 65, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Taipei (AQI 32, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Taichung
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Taipei
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Taichung
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Taipei
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Taichung
- Not needed for most people.
- Taipei
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Taichung
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Taipei
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Taichung and Taipei compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Taichung's air is cleaner than 42% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Taipei's is cleaner than 77%. Within Taiwan, that is 12% and 94% of its 18 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Taichung
- Beats 42%
- Taipei
- Beats 77%
More tree cover than…
- Taichung
- Beats 21%
- Taipei
- Beats 31%
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, Taichung or Taipei?
Taichung has lost more: about 201 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 55 ha around Taipei. 197 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: 2012, with 28 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with 5 ha lost.
| Taichung | Taipei | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 201 ha | 55 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 4% | under 1% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 197 ha | 36 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (58%) | Towns and roads (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.
Taichung
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
Taipei
2018: satellite photo from September 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Taichung or Taipei?
Taipei has more tree cover: 13.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.9% around Taichung, or about 42,954 trees against 31,102.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Taichung | Taipei | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 31.1K | 43.0K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 63.1K | 51.1K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 684K kg | 945K 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
Taichung vs Taipei: your questions answered
Is Taipei cleaner than Taichung?
On air quality, yes, right now: Taipei reads AQI 32 against 65, a gap of 33 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, Taipei averaged AQI 68 against 100, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Taichung and Taipei today?
In Taichung, at AQI 65: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Taipei, at AQI 32: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Taichung or Taipei?
Taichung has lost more: about 201 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 55 ha around Taipei. 197 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Taichung or Taipei?
Taipei has more tree cover: 13.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.9% around Taichung, or about 42,954 trees against 31,102. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Taichung and Taipei need?
Taichung needs about 63,146 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Taipei about 51,106 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Taichung and Taipei 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 Taichung vs Taipei 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 16, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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