Air quality comparison · Tanzania, 514 km apart
Dodoma vs Mwanza Air quality index (AQI) today
Mwanza has cleaner air than Dodoma right now: AQI 21 (Good) against 42 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Dodoma averaged AQI 28 against 36, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Dodoma has lost more forest since 2001. Mwanza has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Dodoma42Mwanza21
Head to head
Dodoma vs Mwanza at a glance
Mwanza is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Dodoma on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Dodoma | Mwanza | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 42 | 21 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 6.8 | 3.2 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 28 (better) | 36 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 54 ha | 28 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 6.4% | 23.5% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 74.1K | 15.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Dodoma and Mwanza right now?
Mwanza has cleaner air than Dodoma right now: AQI 21 (Good) against 42 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
DodomaMwanza
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).
Dodoma: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Mwanza: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Dodoma averaged AQI 28 against 36, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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
- Dodoma4Mwanza2
- Average AQI
- Dodoma28Mwanza36
- Worst day, AQI
- Dodoma46Mwanza48
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Dodoma | Mwanza |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 14 | 33 |
| Nov 6 | 15 | 48 |
| Nov 7 | 15 | 42 |
| Nov 8 | 32 | 48 |
| Nov 9 | 46 | 25 |
| Nov 10 | 43 | 20 |
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 Dodoma and Mwanza today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Dodoma and Mwanza compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Dodoma's air is cleaner than 68% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Mwanza's is cleaner than 88%. Within Tanzania, that is 73% and 94% of its 34 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Dodoma
- Beats 68%
- Mwanza
- Beats 88%
More tree cover than…
- Dodoma
- Beats 13%
- Mwanza
- Beats 55%
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, Dodoma or Mwanza?
Dodoma has lost more: about 54 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 28 ha around Mwanza. 54 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: 2015, with 15 ha lost.
Worst year: 2007, with 10 ha lost.
| Dodoma | Mwanza | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 54 ha | 28 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 47% | 10% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 54 ha | 24 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (99%) | Towns and roads (53%) |
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.
Dodoma
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Mwanza
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Dodoma or Mwanza?
Mwanza has more tree cover: 23.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 6.4% around Dodoma, or about 56,256 trees against 20,106.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Dodoma | Mwanza | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 20.1K | 56.3K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 74.1K | 15.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 442K kg | 1.2M kg (better) |
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
Dodoma vs Mwanza: your questions answered
Is Mwanza cleaner than Dodoma?
On air quality, yes, right now: Mwanza reads AQI 21 against 42, a gap of 21 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Dodoma averaged AQI 28 against 36, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Dodoma and Mwanza today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Dodoma reads AQI 42 and Mwanza reads AQI 21.
Which has lost more forest, Dodoma or Mwanza?
Dodoma has lost more: about 54 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 28 ha around Mwanza. 54 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Dodoma or Mwanza?
Mwanza has more tree cover: 23.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 6.4% around Dodoma, or about 56,256 trees against 20,106. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Dodoma and Mwanza need?
Dodoma needs about 74,142 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Mwanza about 15,560 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Dodoma and Mwanza 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 Dodoma vs Mwanza 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 19, 2026 and Sep 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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