Air quality comparison · Democratic Republic of the Congo, 188 km apart
Kananga vs Tshikapa Air quality index (AQI) today
Tshikapa has cleaner air than Kananga right now: AQI 34 (Good) against 51 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Kananga averaged AQI 46 against 54, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Kananga has lost more forest since 2001. Kananga has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kananga51Tshikapa34
Head to head
Kananga vs Tshikapa at a glance
Tshikapa is ahead on 3 of 6 measures, and Kananga on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kananga | Tshikapa | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 51 | 34 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 9.4 | 5.5 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 46 (better) | 54 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 3,520 ha | 623 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 39.0% (better) | 35.5% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 | 0 |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kananga and Tshikapa right now?
Tshikapa has cleaner air than Kananga right now: AQI 34 (Good) against 51 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
KanangaTshikapa
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.
Tshikapa: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, 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, Kananga averaged AQI 46 against 54, 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
- Kananga5Tshikapa1
- Average AQI
- Kananga46Tshikapa54
- Worst day, AQI
- Kananga54Tshikapa67
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Kananga | Tshikapa |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 40 | 56 |
| Nov 6 | 33 | 49 |
| Nov 7 | 54 | 67 |
| Nov 8 | 47 | 53 |
| Nov 9 | 50 | 45 |
| Nov 10 | 54 | 56 |
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 Tshikapa today?
Kananga (AQI 51, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Tshikapa (AQI 34, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Kananga
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Tshikapa
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Kananga
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Tshikapa
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Kananga
- Not needed for most people.
- Tshikapa
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Kananga
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Tshikapa
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Kananga and Tshikapa compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kananga's air is cleaner than 61% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Tshikapa's is cleaner than 75%. Within Democratic Republic of the Congo, that is 57% and 89% of its 38 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kananga
- Beats 61%
- Tshikapa
- Beats 75%
More tree cover than…
- Kananga
- Beats 82%
- Tshikapa
- Beats 78%
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 Tshikapa?
Kananga has lost more: about 3,520 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 623 ha around Tshikapa. 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: 2006, with 45 ha lost.
| Kananga | Tshikapa | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 3,520 ha | 623 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 27% | 7.7% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 902 ha | 488 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Shifting farming (74%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (71%) |
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.
Tshikapa
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kananga or Tshikapa?
Kananga has more tree cover: 39.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 35.5% around Tshikapa, or about 122,522 trees against 101,489.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kananga | Tshikapa | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 123K (better) | 101K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 | 0 |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.7M kg (better) | 2.2M 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 Tshikapa: your questions answered
Is Tshikapa cleaner than Kananga?
On air quality, yes, right now: Tshikapa reads AQI 34 against 51, a gap of 17 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, Kananga averaged AQI 46 against 54, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kananga and Tshikapa today?
In Kananga, at AQI 51: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Tshikapa, at AQI 34: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Kananga or Tshikapa?
Kananga has lost more: about 3,520 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 623 ha around Tshikapa. 902 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kananga or Tshikapa?
Kananga has more tree cover: 39.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 35.5% around Tshikapa, or about 122,522 trees against 101,489. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kananga and Tshikapa need?
Kananga needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Tshikapa about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kananga and Tshikapa 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 Kananga vs Tshikapa 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 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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