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Airleaf

Bakwa vs Gulu

Tree cover and air quality for both, measured the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius from each city centre, and the live US EPA air quality index. Same radius and same index, so the two numbers compare directly.

Bakwa has more tree cover — 99.6% against 47.5%.

Bakwa has cleaner air right now — AQI 21 against 35.

Tree cover gap
52.1 points
Bakwa is ahead.
Air quality gap
14 AQI
Bakwa is cleaner.
Trees between them
164K
Bakwa has more standing.
Bakwa

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Gulu

Uganda

Tree cover

Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.

99.6%

47.5%

Air quality index

US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.

21 · Good

35 · Good

Trees standing

Estimated from the measured canopy area.

313K

149K

Trees still needed

To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.

0

0

CO₂ absorbed each year

By the trees already standing.

6.9M kg

3.3M kg

Air quality in detail

What each city is breathing

Concentrations in µg/m³, measured at the same moment as the index above. Lower is better in every row. Both are modelled, with no ground station close enough to either.

PM2.5

Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.

5.1 µg/m³

8.5 µg/m³

PM10

Coarser particles — dust, pollen, road grit.

5.2 µg/m³

8.9 µg/m³

Nitrogen dioxide

Mostly traffic and combustion.

1.6 µg/m³

11.2 µg/m³

Ozone

Forms in sunlight; peaks on hot, still afternoons.

18 µg/m³

27 µg/m³

The last week, day by day

A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon. The week says whether it was the weather or the place.

BakwaGulu· daily US EPA index, last 7 days
0255022 Sept25 Sept28 Sept
Daily air quality index for Bakwa and Gulu
DayBakwaGulu
22 Sept4036
23 Sept4345
24 Sept2848
25 Sept2345
26 Sept3531
27 Sept2132
28 Sept2532

Reading these numbers

What is actually being measured

Tree cover

The share of ground under canopy inside a 2 km radius of each city centre, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It is a measurement of that circle, not of the whole municipality — which is exactly what makes the two comparable, since city boundaries are drawn to wildly different rules around the world. Bakwa leads here at 99.6%.

Air quality index

The live US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations — ground stations where a city has them nearby, and a model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so this is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place: Bakwa reads 21 (good) and Gulu reads 35 (good) right now.

Frequently asked

Bakwa and Gulu, answered

Which has more trees, Bakwa or Gulu?

Bakwa, with roughly 312,903 trees inside its 2 km radius against 149,226. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Bakwa has the denser canopy at 99.6%.

Which has better air quality, Bakwa or Gulu?

Bakwa right now, at AQI 21 against 35 — a gap of 14 points. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day.

How many more trees does each city need?

Bakwa needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target, and Gulu about 0. The target is the same share of ground for both, so the figures are directly comparable.

Are these two measured the same way?

Yes — that is the point of the page. Identical radius, identical satellite source at 10 m detail, and the same US EPA index for air. Nothing here is adjusted for population, city limits or climate, so the numbers describe the same-sized circle of ground in each place.

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