Air quality comparison · Democratic Republic of the Congo, 806 km apart
Kananga vs Kinshasa Air quality index (AQI) today
Kananga has cleaner air than Kinshasa right now: AQI 51 (Moderate) against 121 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kananga averaged AQI 46 against 58, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Kananga has lost more forest since 2001. Kananga has more tree cover.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
AQI 51
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 9.4 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 18:00 local
Democratic Republic of the Congo
AQI 121
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 43.8 µg/m³2.9× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 19:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kananga51Kinshasa121
Head to head
Kananga vs Kinshasa at a glance
Kananga is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Kinshasa on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kananga | Kinshasa | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 51 (better) | 121 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 9.4 (better) | 43.8 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 46 (better) | 58 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 3,520 ha | 100 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 39.0% (better) | 1.0% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 106K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kananga and Kinshasa right now?
Kananga has cleaner air than Kinshasa right now: AQI 51 (Moderate) against 121 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kinshasa's PM2.5 is about 2.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Kinshasa is read from a nearby ground station and Kananga is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
KanangaKinshasa
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).
Kananga: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Kinshasa: Ground station · WASARU / KINAQ Huilleries, 2.1 km away · median of 3 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, KINAQ Huilleries.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kananga averaged AQI 46 against 58, 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
- Kananga6Kinshasa1
- Average AQI
- Kananga46Kinshasa58
- Worst day, AQI
- Kananga54Kinshasa70
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Kananga | Kinshasa |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 46 | 56 |
| Nov 5 | 40 | 58 |
| Nov 6 | 33 | 48 |
| Nov 7 | 54 | 47 |
| Nov 8 | 47 | 60 |
| Nov 9 | 50 | 64 |
| Nov 10 | 54 | 70 |
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 Kananga and Kinshasa today?
Kananga (AQI 51, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Kinshasa (AQI 121, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Kananga
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Kinshasa
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Kananga
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Kinshasa
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Kananga
- Not needed for most people.
- Kinshasa
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Kananga
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Kinshasa
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Kananga and Kinshasa compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kananga's air is cleaner than 60% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Kinshasa's is cleaner than 16%. Within Democratic Republic of the Congo, that is 57% and 0% of its 38 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kananga
- Beats 60%
- Kinshasa
- Beats 16%
More tree cover than…
- Kananga
- Beats 82%
- Kinshasa
- Beats 2%
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, Kananga or Kinshasa?
Kananga has lost more: about 3,520 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 100 ha around Kinshasa. 902 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: 2010, with 351 ha lost.
Worst year: 2023, with 29 ha lost.
| Kananga | Kinshasa | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 3,520 ha | 100 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 27% | 9.5% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 902 ha | 66 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Shifting farming (74%) | Towns and roads (64%) |
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.
Kananga
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Kinshasa
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kananga or Kinshasa?
Kananga has more tree cover: 39.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.0% around Kinshasa, or about 122,522 trees against 3,129.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kananga | Kinshasa | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 123K (better) | 3.1K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 106K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.7M kg (better) | 68.8K 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
Kananga vs Kinshasa: your questions answered
Is Kananga cleaner than Kinshasa?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kananga reads AQI 51 against 121, a gap of 70 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, Kananga averaged AQI 46 against 58, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kananga and Kinshasa today?
In Kananga, at AQI 51: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Kinshasa, at AQI 121: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Kananga or Kinshasa?
Kananga has lost more: about 3,520 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 100 ha around Kinshasa. 902 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kananga or Kinshasa?
Kananga has more tree cover: 39.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.0% around Kinshasa, or about 122,522 trees against 3,129. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kananga and Kinshasa need?
Kananga needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Kinshasa about 106,387 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kananga and Kinshasa 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. Kinshasa is read from a nearby ground station and Kananga 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 Kananga vs Kinshasa 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 19, 2026 and Sep 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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