Air quality comparison · Sierra Leone, 235 km apart
Freetown vs Kenema Air quality index (AQI) today
Freetown has cleaner air than Kenema right now: AQI 68 (Moderate) against 83 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Freetown averaged AQI 47 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Kenema has lost more forest since 2001. Kenema has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Freetown68Kenema83
Head to head
Freetown vs Kenema at a glance
Freetown is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Kenema on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Freetown | Kenema | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 68 (better) | 83 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 18.2 (better) | 24.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 47 (better) | 52 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 1,050 ha (better) | 11,100 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 6.6% | 28.5% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 44.4K | 4.7K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Freetown and Kenema right now?
Freetown has cleaner air than Kenema right now: AQI 68 (Moderate) against 83 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Freetown's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Kenema's PM2.5 is about 1.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Freetown is read from a nearby ground station and Kenema is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
FreetownKenema
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).
Freetown: Ground station · Freetown City Council, 400 m away · median of 8 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Clarity.
Kenema: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Monrovia and Freetown. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Freetown averaged AQI 47 against 52, 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
- Freetown5Kenema2
- Average AQI
- Freetown47Kenema52
- Worst day, AQI
- Freetown62Kenema61
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Freetown | Kenema |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 35 | 45 |
| Nov 6 | 43 | 56 |
| Nov 7 | 49 | 52 |
| Nov 8 | 46 | 42 |
| Nov 9 | 49 | 51 |
| Nov 10 | 45 | 58 |
| Nov 11 | 62 | 61 |
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 Freetown and Kenema 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 Freetown and Kenema compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Freetown's air is cleaner than 39% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kenema's is cleaner than 29%. Within Sierra Leone, that is 100% and 50% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Freetown
- Beats 39%
- Kenema
- Beats 29%
More tree cover than…
- Freetown
- Beats 13%
- Kenema
- Beats 65%
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, Freetown or Kenema?
Kenema has lost more: about 11,100 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,050 ha around Freetown. 3,340 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: 2009, with 136 ha lost.
Worst year: 2018, with 962 ha lost.
| Freetown | Kenema | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1,050 ha (better) | 11,100 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 21% (better) | 40% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 995 ha (better) | 3,340 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (76%) | Shifting farming (70%) |
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.
Freetown
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
Kenema
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Freetown or Kenema?
Kenema has more tree cover: 28.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 6.6% around Freetown, or about 89,535 trees against 12,524.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Freetown | Kenema | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 12.5K | 89.5K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 44.4K | 4.7K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 276K kg | 2.0M 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
Freetown vs Kenema: your questions answered
Is Freetown cleaner than Kenema?
On air quality, yes, right now: Freetown reads AQI 68 against 83, a gap of 15 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, Freetown averaged AQI 47 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Freetown and Kenema today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Freetown reads AQI 68 and Kenema reads AQI 83.
Which has lost more forest, Freetown or Kenema?
Kenema has lost more: about 11,100 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 1,050 ha around Freetown. 3,340 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Freetown or Kenema?
Kenema has more tree cover: 28.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 6.6% around Freetown, or about 89,535 trees against 12,524. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Freetown and Kenema need?
Freetown needs about 44,402 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kenema about 4,712 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Freetown and Kenema 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. Freetown is read from a nearby ground station and Kenema is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Freetown vs Kenema 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 (May 20, 2026 and May 2, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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