Air quality comparison · Liberia, 34.2 mi (55 km) apart
Kakata vs Monrovia Air quality index (AQI) today
Kakata has cleaner air than Monrovia right now: AQI 40 (Good) against 86 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Monrovia averaged AQI 48 against 50, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Kakata has lost more forest since 2001. Kakata has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kakata40Monrovia86
Head to head
Kakata vs Monrovia at a glance
Kakata is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Monrovia on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kakata | Monrovia | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 40 (better) | 86 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 7.3 (better) | 27.8 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 50 | 48 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 16,800 ha | 53 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 1.2 mi (2 km) of the center. | 34.1% (better) | 25.1% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 6.5K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kakata and Monrovia right now?
Kakata has cleaner air than Monrovia right now: AQI 40 (Good) against 86 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Monrovia's PM2.5 is about 1.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Monrovia is read from a nearby ground station and Kakata is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
KakataMonrovia
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).
Kakata: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Monrovia: Ground station · Duport Road_Soko Sackor Compound (UMU-EPIC Liberia), 8.5 mi (13.6 km) away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, United Methodist University.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Monrovia averaged AQI 48 against 50, 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
- Kakata1Monrovia5
- Average AQI
- Kakata50Monrovia48
- Worst day, AQI
- Kakata58Monrovia57
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Kakata | Monrovia |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 33 | 34 |
| Nov 6 | 54 | 53 |
| Nov 7 | 50 | 46 |
| Nov 8 | 53 | 47 |
| Nov 9 | 58 | 57 |
| Nov 10 | 52 | 49 |
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 Kakata and Monrovia today?
Kakata (AQI 40, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Monrovia (AQI 86, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Kakata
- A good day to be active outside.
- Monrovia
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Kakata
- Open them to air the house.
- Monrovia
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Kakata
- Not needed.
- Monrovia
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Kakata
- Not needed.
- Monrovia
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Kakata and Monrovia compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kakata's air is cleaner than 70% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Monrovia's is cleaner than 28%. Within Liberia, that is 50% and 0% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kakata
- Beats 70%
- Monrovia
- Beats 28%
More tree cover than…
- Kakata
- Beats 76%
- Monrovia
- Beats 58%
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, Kakata or Monrovia?
Kakata has lost more: about 16,800 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 53 ha around Monrovia. 16,300 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: 2014, with 1,810 ha lost.
Worst year: 2006, with 16 ha lost.
| Kakata | Monrovia | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 16,800 ha | 53 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 58% | 4.3% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 16,300 ha | 49 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (95%) | Towns and roads (92%) |
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.
Kakata
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km north of the city center.
Monrovia
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kakata or Monrovia?
Kakata has more tree cover: 34.1% of the land within 1.2 mi (2 km) of its center against 25.1% around Monrovia, or about 107,128 trees against 33,198.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kakata | Monrovia | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 107K (better) | 33.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 6.5K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.4M kg (better) | 730K kg |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 1.2 mi (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 1.2 mi (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
Kakata vs Monrovia: your questions answered
Is Kakata cleaner than Monrovia?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kakata reads AQI 40 against 86, a gap of 46 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, Monrovia averaged AQI 48 against 50, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kakata and Monrovia today?
In Kakata, at AQI 40: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Monrovia, at AQI 86: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Kakata or Monrovia?
Kakata has lost more: about 16,800 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 53 ha around Monrovia. 16,300 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kakata or Monrovia?
Kakata has more tree cover: 34.1% of the land within 1.2 mi (2 km) of its center against 25.1% around Monrovia, or about 107,128 trees against 33,198. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kakata and Monrovia need?
Kakata needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Monrovia about 6,481 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 34.2 mi (55 km) apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Kakata and Monrovia 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. Monrovia is read from a nearby ground station and Kakata 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 Kakata vs Monrovia 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 (Mar 28, 2026 and Oct 31, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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