Chitungwiza vs Gweru
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.
Gweru has more tree cover — 8.7% against 1.4%.
Gweru has cleaner air right now — AQI 63 against 119.
- Tree cover gap
- 7.3 points
- Gweru is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 56 AQI
- Gweru is cleaner.
- Trees between them
- 22.9K
- Gweru has more standing.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Tree cover
Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.
1.4%
8.7%
Air quality index
US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.
119 · Unhealthy for sensitive groups
63 · Moderate
Trees standing
Estimated from the measured canopy area.
4.4K
27.3K
Trees still needed
To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.
106K
66.9K
CO₂ absorbed each year
By the trees already standing.
96.8K kg
601K 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. Chitungwiza is read from nearby ground stations and Gweru is modelled — worth knowing, since the two are not quite like for like.
PM2.5
Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.
43 µg/m³
17.9 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.
| Day | Chitungwiza | Gweru |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept | 83 | 44 |
| 23 Sept | 62 | 42 |
| 24 Sept | 76 | 43 |
| 25 Sept | 56 | 42 |
| 26 Sept | 63 | 46 |
| 27 Sept | 79 | 57 |
| 28 Sept | 84 | 66 |
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. Gweru leads here at 8.7%.
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: Chitungwiza reads 119 (unhealthy for sensitive groups) and Gweru reads 63 (moderate) right now.
Frequently asked
Chitungwiza and Gweru, answered
Which has more trees, Chitungwiza or Gweru?
Gweru, with roughly 27,332 trees inside its 2 km radius against 4,398. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Gweru has the denser canopy at 8.7%.
Which has better air quality, Chitungwiza or Gweru?
Gweru right now, at AQI 63 against 119 — a gap of 56 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?
Chitungwiza needs about 105,558 more to reach its canopy target, and Gweru about 66,916. 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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