Air quality comparison · Nigeria, 437 km apart
Abuja vs Ibadan Air quality index (AQI) today
Ibadan has cleaner air than Abuja right now: AQI 102 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 111 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
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, Ibadan averaged AQI 80 against 130, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Ibadan has lost more forest since 2001. Abuja has more tree cover.
Nigeria
AQI 111
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 39.4 µg/m³2.6× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 19:00 local
Nigeria
AQI 102
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 36.1 µg/m³2.4× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 19:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Abuja111Ibadan102
Head to head
Abuja vs Ibadan at a glance
Abuja and Ibadan are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Abuja | Ibadan | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 111 | 102 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 39.4 | 36.1 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 130 | 80 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 93 ha (better) | 306 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 26.5% (better) | 2.2% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 26.7K (better) | 103K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Abuja and Ibadan right now?
Ibadan has cleaner air than Abuja right now: AQI 102 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) against 111 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Abuja's PM2.5 is about 2.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Ibadan's PM2.5 is about 2.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
AbujaIbadan
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).
Abuja: Ground station · Federal Staff Hospital, Gwarinpa Abuja, 10.2 km away · median of 3 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Air Quality for Collective Public Health Action Project, WEP/DH360 Air Quality Monitoring Station, Abuja..
Ibadan: Ground station · Mapo Primary Health Centre, Ibadan , 900 m away · median of 6 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Air Quality for Collective Public Health Action Project.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Ibadan averaged AQI 80 against 130, 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
- Abuja0Ibadan7
- Average AQI
- Abuja130Ibadan80
- Worst day, AQI
- Abuja142Ibadan89
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Abuja | Ibadan |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 108 | 89 |
| Nov 5 | 139 | 78 |
| Nov 6 | 138 | 83 |
| Nov 7 | 137 | 80 |
| Nov 8 | 128 | 71 |
| Nov 9 | 120 | 84 |
| Nov 10 | 142 | 73 |
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 Abuja and Ibadan today?
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. Both are in the same EPA band today (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Abuja and Ibadan compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Abuja's air is cleaner than 18% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Ibadan's is cleaner than 21%. Within Nigeria, that is 12% and 14% of its 99 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Abuja
- Beats 18%
- Ibadan
- Beats 21%
More tree cover than…
- Abuja
- Beats 61%
- Ibadan
- Beats 5%
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, Abuja or Ibadan?
Ibadan has lost more: about 306 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 93 ha around Abuja. 306 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: 2017, with 11 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with 82 ha lost.
| Abuja | Ibadan | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 93 ha (better) | 306 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 53% | 45% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 93 ha (better) | 306 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (70%) | Towns and roads (over 99%) |
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.
Abuja
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
Ibadan
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Abuja or Ibadan?
Abuja has more tree cover: 26.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 2.2% around Ibadan, or about 83,252 trees against 6,912.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Abuja | Ibadan | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 83.3K (better) | 6.9K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 26.7K (better) | 103K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.8M kg (better) | 152K 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
Abuja vs Ibadan: your questions answered
Is Ibadan cleaner than Abuja?
On air quality, yes, right now: Ibadan reads AQI 102 against 111, 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, Ibadan averaged AQI 80 against 130, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Abuja and Ibadan today?
The advice is the same for both today. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. Abuja reads AQI 111 and Ibadan reads AQI 102.
Which has lost more forest, Abuja or Ibadan?
Ibadan has lost more: about 306 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 93 ha around Abuja. 306 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Abuja or Ibadan?
Abuja has more tree cover: 26.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 2.2% around Ibadan, or about 83,252 trees against 6,912. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Abuja and Ibadan need?
Abuja needs about 26,704 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Ibadan about 103,044 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Abuja and Ibadan 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 Abuja vs Ibadan 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 30, 2026 and Jan 24, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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