Air quality comparison · Zambia, 489 km apart
Chipata vs Kitwe Air quality index (AQI) today
Chipata has cleaner air than Kitwe right now: AQI 29 (Good) against 52 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Chipata averaged AQI 60 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Kitwe has lost more forest since 2001. Chipata has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Chipata29Kitwe52
Head to head
Chipata vs Kitwe at a glance
Chipata is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and Kitwe on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Chipata | Kitwe | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 29 (better) | 52 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 5.5 (better) | 11.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 60 (better) | 70 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 254 ha (better) | 955 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 19.9% (better) | 16.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 31.7K (better) | 41.5K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Chipata and Kitwe right now?
Chipata has cleaner air than Kitwe right now: AQI 29 (Good) against 52 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
ChipataKitwe
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).
Chipata: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Kitwe: 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?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Chipata averaged AQI 60 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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
- Chipata5Kitwe0
- Average AQI
- Chipata60Kitwe70
- Worst day, AQI
- Chipata68Kitwe85
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Chipata | Kitwe |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 63 | 74 |
| Nov 5 | 68 | 68 |
| Nov 6 | 66 | 85 |
| Nov 7 | 61 | 77 |
| Nov 8 | 61 | 61 |
| Nov 9 | 59 | 73 |
| Nov 10 | 41 | 50 |
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 Chipata and Kitwe today?
Chipata (AQI 29, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Kitwe (AQI 52, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Chipata
- A good day to be active outside.
- Kitwe
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Chipata
- Open them to air the house.
- Kitwe
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Chipata
- Not needed.
- Kitwe
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Chipata
- Not needed.
- Kitwe
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Chipata and Kitwe compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Chipata's air is cleaner than 80% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kitwe's is cleaner than 58%. Within Zambia, that is 94% and 65% of its 18 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Chipata
- Beats 80%
- Kitwe
- Beats 58%
More tree cover than…
- Chipata
- Beats 47%
- Kitwe
- Beats 39%
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, Chipata or Kitwe?
Kitwe has lost more: about 955 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 254 ha around Chipata. 387 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: 2001, with 27 ha lost.
Worst year: 2010, with 181 ha lost.
| Chipata | Kitwe | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 254 ha (better) | 955 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 11% (better) | 47% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 253 ha (better) | 387 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (97%) | Logging (39%) |
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.
Chipata
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Kitwe
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Chipata or Kitwe?
Chipata has more tree cover: 19.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 16.8% around Kitwe, or about 62,518 trees against 52,779.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Chipata | Kitwe | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 62.5K (better) | 52.8K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 31.7K (better) | 41.5K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.4M kg (better) | 1.2M 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
Chipata vs Kitwe: your questions answered
Is Chipata cleaner than Kitwe?
On air quality, yes, right now: Chipata reads AQI 29 against 52, a gap of 23 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, Chipata averaged AQI 60 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Chipata and Kitwe today?
In Chipata, at AQI 29: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Kitwe, at AQI 52: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Chipata or Kitwe?
Kitwe has lost more: about 955 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 254 ha around Chipata. 387 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Chipata or Kitwe?
Chipata has more tree cover: 19.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 16.8% around Kitwe, or about 62,518 trees against 52,779. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Chipata and Kitwe need?
Chipata needs about 31,730 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kitwe about 41,469 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Chipata and Kitwe 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 are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Chipata vs Kitwe 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 (Sep 12, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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