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Airleaf

Harare vs Kwekwe

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.

Harare has more tree cover — 10.3% against 6.0%.

Kwekwe has cleaner air right now — AQI 66 against 116.

Tree cover gap
4.3 points
Harare is ahead.
Air quality gap
50 AQI
Kwekwe is cleaner.
Trees between them
13.5K
Harare has more standing.
Harare

Zimbabwe

Kwekwe

Zimbabwe

Tree cover

Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.

10.3%

6.0%

Air quality index

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

116 · Unhealthy for sensitive groups

66 · Moderate

Trees standing

Estimated from the measured canopy area.

32.4K

18.9K

Trees still needed

To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.

77.6K

75.4K

CO₂ absorbed each year

By the trees already standing.

712K kg

415K 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. Harare is read from nearby ground stations and Kwekwe is modelled — worth knowing, since the two are not quite like for like.

PM2.5

Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.

41.5 µg/m³

19.2 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.

HarareKwekwe· daily US EPA index, last 7 days
05010022 Sept25 Sept28 Sept
Daily air quality index for Harare and Kwekwe
DayHarareKwekwe
22 Sept8352
23 Sept6243
24 Sept7644
25 Sept5645
26 Sept6355
27 Sept7968
28 Sept7577

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. Harare leads here at 10.3%.

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: Harare reads 116 (unhealthy for sensitive groups) and Kwekwe reads 66 (moderate) right now.

Frequently asked

Harare and Kwekwe, answered

Which has more trees, Harare or Kwekwe?

Harare, with roughly 32,358 trees inside its 2 km radius against 18,850. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Harare has the denser canopy at 10.3%.

Which has better air quality, Harare or Kwekwe?

Kwekwe right now, at AQI 66 against 116 — a gap of 50 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?

Harare needs about 77,597 more to reach its canopy target, and Kwekwe about 75,398. 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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