Air quality comparison · Nigeria, 346 km apart
Abuja vs Kano Air quality index (AQI) today
Kano has cleaner air than Abuja right now: AQI 65 (Moderate) against 91 (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, Abuja averaged AQI 130 against 181, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Abuja has lost more forest since 2001. Abuja has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Abuja91Kano65
Head to head
Abuja vs Kano at a glance
Abuja and Kano are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Abuja | Kano | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 91 | 65 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 30.6 | 14.1 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 130 (better) | 181 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 93 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 26.5% (better) | 1.7% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 11.0K (better) | 88.8K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Abuja and Kano right now?
Kano has cleaner air than Abuja right now: AQI 65 (Moderate) against 91 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Abuja's PM2.5 is about 2.0× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Abuja is read from a nearby ground station and Kano is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
AbujaKano
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 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Air Quality for Collective Public Health Action Project, WEP/DH360 Air Quality Monitoring Station, Abuja..
Kano: 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, Abuja averaged AQI 130 against 181, 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
- Abuja6Kano1
- Average AQI
- Abuja130Kano181
- Worst day, AQI
- Abuja142Kano208
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Abuja | Kano |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 108 | 189 |
| Nov 5 | 139 | 208 |
| Nov 6 | 138 | 181 |
| Nov 7 | 137 | 175 |
| Nov 8 | 128 | 195 |
| Nov 9 | 120 | 179 |
| Nov 10 | 142 | 140 |
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 Kano 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 Abuja and Kano compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Abuja's air is cleaner than 25% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kano's is cleaner than 42%. Within Nigeria, that is 31% and 73% of its 99 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Abuja
- Beats 25%
- Kano
- Beats 42%
More tree cover than…
- Abuja
- Beats 61%
- Kano
- Beats 3%
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 Kano?
Abuja has lost more: about 93 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Kano. 93 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.
No forest lost in any year.
| Abuja | Kano | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 93 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 93 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (70%) | Not classified |
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.
Kano
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Abuja or Kano?
Abuja has more tree cover: 26.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.7% around Kano, or about 83,252 trees against 5,335.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Abuja | Kano | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 83.3K (better) | 5.3K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 11.0K (better) | 88.8K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.8M kg (better) | 117K 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 Kano: your questions answered
Is Kano cleaner than Abuja?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kano reads AQI 65 against 91, a gap of 26 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, Abuja averaged AQI 130 against 181, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Abuja and Kano today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Abuja reads AQI 91 and Kano reads AQI 65.
Which has lost more forest, Abuja or Kano?
Abuja has lost more: about 93 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Kano. 93 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Abuja or Kano?
Abuja has more tree cover: 26.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.7% around Kano, or about 83,252 trees against 5,335. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Abuja and Kano need?
Abuja needs about 10,996 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kano about 88,818 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Abuja and Kano 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. Abuja is read from a nearby ground station and Kano 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 Abuja vs Kano 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 Oct 28, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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