Air quality comparison · Bhutan, 69 km apart
Thimphu vs Tsirang Air quality index (AQI) today
Thimphu has cleaner air than Tsirang right now: AQI 4 (Good) against 13 (Good).
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, Thimphu averaged AQI 26 against 47, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Tsirang has lost more forest since 2001. Tsirang has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Thimphu4Tsirang13
Head to head
Thimphu vs Tsirang at a glance
Thimphu is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Tsirang on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Thimphu | Tsirang | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 4 (better) | 13 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 0.5 (better) | 2.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 26 (better) | 47 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 398 ha (better) | 691 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 48.1% | 77.5% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 | 0 |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Thimphu and Tsirang right now?
Thimphu has cleaner air than Tsirang right now: AQI 4 (Good) against 13 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
ThimphuTsirang
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).
Thimphu: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 85 km, e.g. Phuentsholing and Jalpaiguri Division. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 85 km, US EPA index.
Tsirang: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 85 km, e.g. Phuentsholing and Jalpaiguri Division. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 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, Thimphu averaged AQI 26 against 47, 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
- Thimphu7Tsirang0
- Average AQI
- Thimphu26Tsirang47
- Worst day, AQI
- Thimphu44Tsirang64
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Thimphu | Tsirang |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 29 | 51 |
| Nov 6 | 44 | 64 |
| Nov 7 | 40 | 62 |
| Nov 8 | 28 | 46 |
| Nov 9 | 18 | 44 |
| Nov 10 | 10 | 32 |
| Nov 11 | 10 | 27 |
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 Thimphu and Tsirang 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 Thimphu and Tsirang compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Thimphu's air is cleaner than 99% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Tsirang's is cleaner than 95%.
Cleaner air than…
- Thimphu
- Beats 99%
- Tsirang
- Beats 95%
More tree cover than…
- Thimphu
- Beats 91%
- Tsirang
- Beats 99%
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, Thimphu or Tsirang?
Tsirang has lost more: about 691 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 398 ha around Thimphu. 618 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: 2010, with 60 ha lost.
Worst year: 2010, with 209 ha lost.
| Thimphu | Tsirang | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 398 ha (better) | 691 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 1.8% (better) | 2.9% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 165 ha (better) | 618 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Wildfires (38%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (82%) |
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.
Thimphu
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southwest of the city center.
Tsirang
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Thimphu or Tsirang?
Tsirang has more tree cover: 77.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 48.1% around Thimphu, or about 243,473 trees against 151,111.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Thimphu | Tsirang | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 151K | 243K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 | 0 |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 3.3M kg | 5.4M 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
Thimphu vs Tsirang: your questions answered
Is Thimphu cleaner than Tsirang?
On air quality, yes, right now: Thimphu reads AQI 4 against 13, a gap of 9 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, Thimphu averaged AQI 26 against 47, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Thimphu and Tsirang today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Thimphu reads AQI 4 and Tsirang reads AQI 13.
Which has lost more forest, Thimphu or Tsirang?
Tsirang has lost more: about 691 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 398 ha around Thimphu. 618 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Thimphu or Tsirang?
Tsirang has more tree cover: 77.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 48.1% around Thimphu, or about 243,473 trees against 151,111. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Thimphu and Tsirang need?
Thimphu needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Tsirang about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Thimphu and Tsirang 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 Thimphu vs Tsirang 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 25, 2026 and Oct 25, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
Keep going
Compare them with somewhere else
Build your own
Compare Thimphu with somewhere else
This place
Thimphu