Air quality comparison · Ivory Coast, 284 km apart
Abidjan vs Bouaké Air quality index (AQI) today
Abidjan has cleaner air than Bouaké right now: AQI 42 (Good) against 52 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Abidjan averaged AQI 39 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Abidjan has lost more forest since 2001. Abidjan has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Abidjan42Bouaké52
Head to head
Abidjan vs Bouaké at a glance
Abidjan is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Bouaké on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Abidjan | Bouaké | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 42 (better) | 52 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 7.6 (better) | 10.6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 39 (better) | 53 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 891 ha | 102 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 18.0% (better) | 14.0% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 37.7K (better) | 50.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Abidjan and Bouaké right now?
Abidjan has cleaner air than Bouaké right now: AQI 42 (Good) against 52 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Abidjan is read from a nearby ground station and Bouaké is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
AbidjanBouaké
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).
Abidjan: Ground station · NodeS-A6VH, 3.1 km away · median of 12 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Clarity, Data354.
Bouaké: 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?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Abidjan averaged AQI 39 against 53, 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
- Abidjan7Bouaké0
- Average AQI
- Abidjan39Bouaké53
- Worst day, AQI
- Abidjan51Bouaké67
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Abidjan | Bouaké |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 36 | 45 |
| Nov 5 | 28 | 37 |
| Nov 6 | 37 | 60 |
| Nov 7 | 42 | 54 |
| Nov 8 | 47 | 67 |
| Nov 9 | 51 | 64 |
| Nov 10 | 30 | 47 |
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 Abidjan and Bouaké today?
Abidjan (AQI 42, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Bouaké (AQI 52, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Abidjan
- A good day to be active outside.
- Bouaké
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Abidjan
- Open them to air the house.
- Bouaké
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Abidjan
- Not needed.
- Bouaké
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Abidjan
- Not needed.
- Bouaké
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Abidjan and Bouaké compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Abidjan's air is cleaner than 68% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Bouaké's is cleaner than 58%. Within Ivory Coast, that is 58% and 26% of its 20 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Abidjan
- Beats 68%
- Bouaké
- Beats 58%
More tree cover than…
- Abidjan
- Beats 42%
- Bouaké
- Beats 32%
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, Abidjan or Bouaké?
Abidjan has lost more: about 891 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 102 ha around Bouaké. 876 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: 2009, with 119 ha lost.
Worst year: 2019, with 10 ha lost.
| Abidjan | Bouaké | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 891 ha | 102 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 19% | 17% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 876 ha | 102 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (77%) | Towns and roads (51%) |
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.
Abidjan
2018: satellite photo from January 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
Bouaké
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Abidjan or Bouaké?
Abidjan has more tree cover: 18.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.0% around Bouaké, or about 56,549 trees against 43,982.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Abidjan | Bouaké | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 56.5K (better) | 44.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 37.7K (better) | 50.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg (better) | 968K 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
Abidjan vs Bouaké: your questions answered
Is Abidjan cleaner than Bouaké?
On air quality, yes, right now: Abidjan reads AQI 42 against 52, a gap of 10 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, Abidjan averaged AQI 39 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Abidjan and Bouaké today?
In Abidjan, at AQI 42: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Bouaké, at AQI 52: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Abidjan or Bouaké?
Abidjan has lost more: about 891 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 102 ha around Bouaké. 876 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Abidjan or Bouaké?
Abidjan has more tree cover: 18.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.0% around Bouaké, or about 56,549 trees against 43,982. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Abidjan and Bouaké need?
Abidjan needs about 37,699 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Bouaké about 50,265 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Abidjan and Bouaké 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. Abidjan is read from a nearby ground station and Bouaké 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 Abidjan vs Bouaké 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 22, 2026 and Jun 5, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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