Skip to content
Airleaf

Gandajika vs Kolwezi

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.

Gandajika has more tree cover — 35.1% against 4.0%.

Gandajika has cleaner air right now — AQI 44 against 156.

Tree cover gap
31.1 points
Gandajika is ahead.
Air quality gap
112 AQI
Gandajika is cleaner.
Trees between them
98.0K
Gandajika has more standing.
Gandajika

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kolwezi

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Tree cover

Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.

35.1%

4.0%

Air quality index

US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.

44 · Good

156 · Unhealthy

Trees standing

Estimated from the measured canopy area.

110K

12.3K

Trees still needed

To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.

0

110K

CO₂ absorbed each year

By the trees already standing.

2.4M kg

270K 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. Kolwezi is read from nearby ground stations and Gandajika is modelled — worth knowing, since the two are not quite like for like.

PM2.5

Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.

10.5 µg/m³

64.7 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.

GandajikaKolwezi· daily US EPA index, last 7 days
06312522 Sept25 Sept28 Sept
Daily air quality index for Gandajika and Kolwezi
DayGandajikaKolwezi
22 Sept6696
23 Sept7378
24 Sept7764
25 Sept6969
26 Sept7380
27 Sept45110
28 Sept5387

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. Gandajika leads here at 35.1%.

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: Gandajika reads 44 (good) and Kolwezi reads 156 (unhealthy) right now.

Frequently asked

Gandajika and Kolwezi, answered

Which has more trees, Gandajika or Kolwezi?

Gandajika, with roughly 110,270 trees inside its 2 km radius against 12,265. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Gandajika has the denser canopy at 35.1%.

Which has better air quality, Gandajika or Kolwezi?

Gandajika right now, at AQI 44 against 156 — a gap of 112 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?

Gandajika needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target, and Kolwezi about 110,383. 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.

Keep going

Other comparisons nearby

Build your own

Compare Gandajika with somewhere else

This place

Gandajika

Want a different pair? Browse comparisons or measure any address.