Air quality comparison · Cameroon, 217 km apart
Bafoussam vs Yaoundé Air quality index (AQI) today
Yaoundé has cleaner air than Bafoussam right now: AQI 98 (Moderate) against 161 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Yaoundé averaged AQI 45 against 109, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Yaoundé has lost more forest since 2001. Bafoussam has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Bafoussam161Yaoundé98
Head to head
Bafoussam vs Yaoundé at a glance
Yaoundé is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Bafoussam on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Bafoussam | Yaoundé | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 161 | 98 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 66.6 | 34.4 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 109 | 45 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 302 ha (better) | 6,260 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 12.5% (better) | 9.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 86.4K | 63.3K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Bafoussam and Yaoundé right now?
Yaoundé has cleaner air than Bafoussam right now: AQI 98 (Moderate) against 161 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Bafoussam's PM2.5 is about 4.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Yaoundé's PM2.5 is about 2.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Yaoundé is read from a nearby ground station and Bafoussam is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
BafoussamYaoundé
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).
Bafoussam: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Douala and Yaoundé. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index.
Yaoundé: Ground station · CAY5/Essos, 2.2 km away · median of 5 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirQo, Clarity.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Yaoundé averaged AQI 45 against 109, 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
- Bafoussam0Yaoundé6
- Average AQI
- Bafoussam109Yaoundé45
- Worst day, AQI
- Bafoussam123Yaoundé58
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Bafoussam | Yaoundé |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 98 | 37 |
| Nov 6 | 106 | 27 |
| Nov 7 | 116 | 43 |
| Nov 8 | 123 | 54 |
| Nov 9 | 116 | 52 |
| Nov 10 | 96 | 58 |
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 Bafoussam and Yaoundé today?
Bafoussam (AQI 161, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Yaoundé (AQI 98, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Bafoussam
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
- Yaoundé
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Bafoussam
- Keep them closed.
- Yaoundé
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Bafoussam
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
- Yaoundé
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Bafoussam
- Run one.
- Yaoundé
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Bafoussam and Yaoundé compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Bafoussam's air is cleaner than 7% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Yaoundé's is cleaner than 22%. Within Cameroon, that is 0% and 27% of its 16 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Bafoussam
- Beats 7%
- Yaoundé
- Beats 22%
More tree cover than…
- Bafoussam
- Beats 28%
- Yaoundé
- Beats 20%
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, Bafoussam or Yaoundé?
Yaoundé has lost more: about 6,260 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 302 ha around Bafoussam. 6,210 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: 2021, with 45 ha lost.
Worst year: 2008, with 869 ha lost.
| Bafoussam | Yaoundé | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 302 ha (better) | 6,260 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.9% (better) | 39% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 283 ha (better) | 6,210 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (53%) | Towns and roads (97%) |
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.
Bafoussam
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km north of the city center.
Yaoundé
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Bafoussam or Yaoundé?
Bafoussam has more tree cover: 12.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.8% around Yaoundé, or about 39,270 trees against 30,695.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Bafoussam | Yaoundé | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 39.3K (better) | 30.7K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 86.4K | 63.3K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 864K kg (better) | 675K 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
Bafoussam vs Yaoundé: your questions answered
Is Yaoundé cleaner than Bafoussam?
On air quality, yes, right now: Yaoundé reads AQI 98 against 161, a gap of 63 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Yaoundé averaged AQI 45 against 109, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Bafoussam and Yaoundé today?
In Bafoussam, at AQI 161: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so. In Yaoundé, at AQI 98: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Bafoussam or Yaoundé?
Yaoundé has lost more: about 6,260 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 302 ha around Bafoussam. 6,210 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Bafoussam or Yaoundé?
Bafoussam has more tree cover: 12.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.8% around Yaoundé, or about 39,270 trees against 30,695. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Bafoussam and Yaoundé need?
Bafoussam needs about 86,394 more to reach its canopy target of 40%, and Yaoundé about 63,270 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Bafoussam and Yaoundé 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. Yaoundé is read from a nearby ground station and Bafoussam 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 Bafoussam vs Yaoundé 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 (Nov 1, 2026 and Apr 20, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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