Air quality comparison · Namibia, 268 km apart
Walvis Bay vs Windhoek Air quality index (AQI) today
Walvis Bay has cleaner air than Windhoek right now: AQI 51 (Moderate) against 52 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Windhoek averaged AQI 23 against 44, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Windhoek has more tree cover.
Namibia
AQI 51
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 9.4 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 08:00 local
Namibia
AQI 52
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 8 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 08:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Walvis Bay51Windhoek52
Head to head
Walvis Bay vs Windhoek at a glance
Windhoek is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Walvis Bay on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Walvis Bay | Windhoek | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 51 (better) | 52 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 9.4 | 8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 44 | 23 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 0.2% | 10.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 81.5K | 60.3K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Walvis Bay and Windhoek right now?
Walvis Bay has cleaner air than Windhoek right now: AQI 51 (Moderate) against 52 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
Walvis BayWindhoek
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).
Walvis Bay: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Windhoek: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Windhoek averaged AQI 23 against 44, 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
- Walvis Bay1Windhoek6
- Average AQI
- Walvis Bay44Windhoek23
- Worst day, AQI
- Walvis Bay54Windhoek57
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Walvis Bay | Windhoek |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 40 | 16 |
| Nov 6 | 32 | 5 |
| Nov 7 | 32 | 3 |
| Nov 8 | 47 | 5 |
| Nov 9 | 54 | 28 |
| Nov 10 | 51 | 50 |
| Nov 11 | 52 | 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 Walvis Bay and Windhoek today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Walvis Bay and Windhoek compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Walvis Bay's air is cleaner than 60% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Windhoek's is cleaner than 58%. Within Namibia, that is 50% and 25% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Walvis Bay
- Beats 60%
- Windhoek
- Beats 58%
More tree cover than…
- Walvis Bay
- Beats 0%
- Windhoek
- Beats 23%
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.
Walvis Bay
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Windhoek
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Walvis Bay or Windhoek?
Windhoek has more tree cover: 10.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.2% around Walvis Bay, or about 33,929 trees against 547.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Walvis Bay | Windhoek | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 547 | 33.9K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 81.5K | 60.3K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 12.0K kg | 746K 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
Walvis Bay vs Windhoek: your questions answered
Is Walvis Bay cleaner than Windhoek?
On air quality, yes, right now: Walvis Bay reads AQI 51 against 52, a gap of 1 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Windhoek averaged AQI 23 against 44, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Walvis Bay and Windhoek today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Walvis Bay reads AQI 51 and Windhoek reads AQI 52.
Which has more trees, Walvis Bay or Windhoek?
Windhoek has more tree cover: 10.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.2% around Walvis Bay, or about 33,929 trees against 547. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Walvis Bay and Windhoek need?
Walvis Bay needs about 81,543 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Windhoek about 60,319 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Walvis Bay and Windhoek 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 Walvis Bay vs Windhoek 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 10, 2026 and Sep 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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