Air quality comparison · Kenya, 161 km apart
Kakamega vs Nakuru Air quality index (AQI) today
Kakamega has cleaner air than Nakuru right now: AQI 58 (Moderate) against 76 (Moderate).
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, Nakuru averaged AQI 45 against 72, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Kakamega has lost more forest since 2001. Kakamega has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kakamega58Nakuru76
Head to head
Kakamega vs Nakuru at a glance
Kakamega is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Nakuru on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kakamega | Nakuru | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 58 (better) | 76 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 10.8 (better) | 17.1 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 72 | 45 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 483 ha | 99 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 53.4% (better) | 14.6% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 46.0K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kakamega and Nakuru right now?
Kakamega has cleaner air than Nakuru right now: AQI 58 (Moderate) against 76 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Nakuru's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
KakamegaNakuru
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).
Kakamega: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Mukono and Kampala. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
Nakuru: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 125 km, e.g. Limuru Town. and Banana Hill. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 125 km, 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, Nakuru averaged AQI 45 against 72, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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
- Kakamega0Nakuru6
- Average AQI
- Kakamega72Nakuru45
- Worst day, AQI
- Kakamega80Nakuru52
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Kakamega | Nakuru |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 71 | 52 |
| Nov 6 | 62 | 41 |
| Nov 7 | 74 | 49 |
| Nov 8 | 76 | 44 |
| Nov 9 | 67 | 39 |
| Nov 10 | 80 | 43 |
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 Kakamega and Nakuru 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 Kakamega and Nakuru compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kakamega's air is cleaner than 50% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Nakuru's is cleaner than 33%. Within Kenya, that is 68% and 48% of its 26 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kakamega
- Beats 50%
- Nakuru
- Beats 33%
More tree cover than…
- Kakamega
- Beats 94%
- Nakuru
- Beats 33%
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, Kakamega or Nakuru?
Kakamega has lost more: about 483 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 99 ha around Nakuru. 348 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: 2018, with 82 ha lost.
Worst year: 2015, with 19 ha lost.
| Kakamega | Nakuru | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 483 ha | 99 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 9.5% | 4.4% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 348 ha | 2 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 (62%) | Logging (56%) |
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.
Kakamega
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
Nakuru
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kakamega or Nakuru?
Kakamega has more tree cover: 53.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.6% around Nakuru, or about 167,761 trees against 43,620.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kakamega | Nakuru | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 168K (better) | 43.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 46.0K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 3.7M kg (better) | 960K 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
Kakamega vs Nakuru: your questions answered
Is Kakamega cleaner than Nakuru?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kakamega reads AQI 58 against 76, a gap of 18 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, Nakuru averaged AQI 45 against 72, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kakamega and Nakuru today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Kakamega reads AQI 58 and Nakuru reads AQI 76.
Which has lost more forest, Kakamega or Nakuru?
Kakamega has lost more: about 483 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 99 ha around Nakuru. 348 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kakamega or Nakuru?
Kakamega has more tree cover: 53.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.6% around Nakuru, or about 167,761 trees against 43,620. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kakamega and Nakuru need?
Kakamega needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Nakuru about 46,010 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kakamega and Nakuru 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 Kakamega vs Nakuru 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 12, 2026 and Sep 7, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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