Air quality comparison · Gabon, 511 km apart
Franceville vs Libreville Air quality index (AQI) today
Libreville has cleaner air than Franceville right now: AQI 53 (Moderate) against 56 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Franceville averaged AQI 40 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days. Franceville has lost more forest since 2001. Franceville has more tree cover.
Gabon
AQI 56
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 11.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 19:00 local
Gabon
AQI 53
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 11.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 22:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Franceville56Libreville53
Head to head
Franceville vs Libreville at a glance
Franceville is ahead on 3 of 6 measures, and Libreville on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Franceville | Libreville | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 56 | 53 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.7 | 11.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 40 (better) | 42 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 7,100 ha | 1,510 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 49.5% (better) | 12.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 46.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Franceville and Libreville right now?
Libreville has cleaner air than Franceville right now: AQI 53 (Moderate) against 56 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
FrancevilleLibreville
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).
Franceville: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Libreville: 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?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Franceville averaged AQI 40 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 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
- Franceville2Libreville3
- Average AQI
- Franceville40Libreville42
- Worst day, AQI
- Franceville58Libreville57
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Franceville | Libreville |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 39 | 37 |
| Nov 5 | 38 | 38 |
| Nov 6 | 39 | 38 |
| Nov 7 | 27 | 48 |
| Nov 8 | 37 | 57 |
| Nov 9 | 45 | 45 |
| Nov 10 | 58 | 28 |
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 Franceville and Libreville today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Franceville and Libreville compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Franceville's air is cleaner than 52% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Libreville's is cleaner than 57%. Within Gabon, that is 0% and 25% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Franceville
- Beats 52%
- Libreville
- Beats 57%
More tree cover than…
- Franceville
- Beats 92%
- Libreville
- Beats 27%
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, Franceville or Libreville?
Franceville has lost more: about 7,100 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,510 ha around Libreville. 472 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: 2016, with 821 ha lost.
Worst year: 2014, with 215 ha lost.
| Franceville | Libreville | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 7,100 ha | 1,510 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 26% | 20% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 472 ha (better) | 1,340 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Shifting farming (93%) | Towns and roads (78%) |
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.
Franceville
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km north of the city center.
Libreville
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Franceville or Libreville?
Franceville has more tree cover: 49.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.3% around Libreville, or about 155,509 trees against 32,382.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Franceville | Libreville | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 156K (better) | 32.4K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 46.6K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 3.4M kg (better) | 712K 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
Franceville vs Libreville: your questions answered
Is Libreville cleaner than Franceville?
On air quality, yes, right now: Libreville reads AQI 53 against 56, a gap of 3 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Franceville averaged AQI 40 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 2 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Franceville and Libreville today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Franceville reads AQI 56 and Libreville reads AQI 53.
Which has lost more forest, Franceville or Libreville?
Franceville has lost more: about 7,100 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,510 ha around Libreville. 472 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Franceville or Libreville?
Franceville has more tree cover: 49.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.3% around Libreville, or about 155,509 trees against 32,382. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Franceville and Libreville need?
Franceville needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Libreville about 46,598 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Franceville and Libreville 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 Franceville vs Libreville 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 (Aug 17, 2026 and Jun 29, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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