Chunga vs Kitwe
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.
Kitwe has more tree cover — 9.8% against 3.8%.
Chunga has cleaner air right now — AQI 134 against 152.
- Tree cover gap
- 6.0 points
- Kitwe is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 18 AQI
- Chunga is cleaner.
- Trees between them
- 18.9K
- Kitwe has more standing.
Tree cover
Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.
3.8%
9.8%
Air quality index
US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.
134 · Unhealthy for sensitive groups
152 · Unhealthy
Trees standing
Estimated from the measured canopy area.
11.9K
30.8K
Trees still needed
To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.
98.0K
94.9K
CO₂ absorbed each year
By the trees already standing.
263K kg
677K 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. Chunga is read from nearby ground stations and Kitwe is modelled — worth knowing, since the two are not quite like for like.
PM2.5
Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.
48.8 µg/m³
57.7 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 | Chunga | Kitwe |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept | 81 | 86 |
| 23 Sept | 68 | 70 |
| 24 Sept | 48 | 63 |
| 25 Sept | 48 | 65 |
| 26 Sept | 51 | 67 |
| 27 Sept | 75 | 89 |
| 28 Sept | 78 | 141 |
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. Kitwe leads here at 9.8%.
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: Chunga reads 134 (unhealthy for sensitive groups) and Kitwe reads 152 (unhealthy) right now.
Frequently asked
Chunga and Kitwe, answered
Which has more trees, Chunga or Kitwe?
Kitwe, with roughly 30,788 trees inside its 2 km radius against 11,938. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Kitwe has the denser canopy at 9.8%.
Which has better air quality, Chunga or Kitwe?
Chunga right now, at AQI 134 against 152 — a gap of 18 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?
Chunga needs about 98,018 more to reach its canopy target, and Kitwe about 94,876. 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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