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Airleaf

Beni vs Kampala

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.

Beni has more tree cover — 18.4% against 17.0%.

Beni has cleaner air right now — AQI 26 against 113.

Tree cover gap
1.4 points
Beni is ahead.
Air quality gap
87 AQI
Beni is cleaner.
Trees between them
4.4K
Beni has more standing.
Beni

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kampala

Uganda

Tree cover

Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.

18.4%

17.0%

Air quality index

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

26 · Good

113 · Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Trees standing

Estimated from the measured canopy area.

57.8K

53.4K

Trees still needed

To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.

36.4K

56.5K

CO₂ absorbed each year

By the trees already standing.

1.3M kg

1.2M 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. Kampala is read from nearby ground stations and Beni is modelled — worth knowing, since the two are not quite like for like.

PM2.5

Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.

6.3 µg/m³

40.3 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.

BeniKampala· daily US EPA index, last 7 days
05010022 Sept25 Sept28 Sept
Daily air quality index for Beni and Kampala
DayBeniKampala
22 Sept5592
23 Sept3979
24 Sept5293
25 Sept4882
26 Sept4798
27 Sept4268
28 Sept3873

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. Beni leads here at 18.4%.

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: Beni reads 26 (good) and Kampala reads 113 (unhealthy for sensitive groups) right now.

Frequently asked

Beni and Kampala, answered

Which has more trees, Beni or Kampala?

Beni, with roughly 57,805 trees inside its 2 km radius against 53,407. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Beni has the denser canopy at 18.4%.

Which has better air quality, Beni or Kampala?

Beni right now, at AQI 26 against 113 — a gap of 87 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?

Beni needs about 36,442 more to reach its canopy target, and Kampala about 56,549. 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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