Air quality comparison · Zambia, 290 km apart
Kitwe vs Lusaka Air quality index (AQI) today
Kitwe has cleaner air than Lusaka right now: AQI 52 (Moderate) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Lusaka averaged AQI 67 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Kitwe has lost more forest since 2001. Kitwe has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kitwe52Lusaka113
Head to head
Kitwe vs Lusaka at a glance
Kitwe is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Lusaka on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kitwe | Lusaka | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 52 (better) | 113 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.7 (better) | 40.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 70 | 67 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 955 ha | 8 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 16.8% (better) | 13.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 41.5K (better) | 68.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kitwe and Lusaka right now?
Kitwe has cleaner air than Lusaka right now: AQI 52 (Moderate) against 113 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Lusaka's PM2.5 is about 2.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Lusaka is read from a nearby ground station and Kitwe is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
KitweLusaka
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).
Kitwe: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Lusaka: Ground station · Zambia Outdoor Demo, 14.4 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Communities Against Pollution (CAP).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Lusaka averaged AQI 67 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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
- Kitwe3Lusaka4
- Average AQI
- Kitwe70Lusaka67
- Worst day, AQI
- Kitwe85Lusaka82
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Kitwe | Lusaka |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 74 | 56 |
| Nov 5 | 68 | 61 |
| Nov 6 | 85 | 64 |
| Nov 7 | 77 | 82 |
| Nov 8 | 61 | 79 |
| Nov 9 | 73 | 78 |
| Nov 10 | 50 | 46 |
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 Kitwe and Lusaka today?
Kitwe (AQI 52, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Lusaka (AQI 113, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Kitwe
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Lusaka
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Kitwe
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Lusaka
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Kitwe
- Not needed for most people.
- Lusaka
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Kitwe
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Lusaka
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Kitwe and Lusaka compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kitwe's air is cleaner than 59% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Lusaka's is cleaner than 18%. Within Zambia, that is 65% and 6% of its 18 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kitwe
- Beats 59%
- Lusaka
- Beats 18%
More tree cover than…
- Kitwe
- Beats 39%
- Lusaka
- Beats 30%
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, Kitwe or Lusaka?
Kitwe has lost more: about 955 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 8 ha around Lusaka. 387 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 181 ha lost.
Worst year: 2009, with 4 ha lost.
| Kitwe | Lusaka | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 955 ha | 8 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 387 ha | 8 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Logging (39%) | Towns and roads (100%) |
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.
Kitwe
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
Lusaka
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kitwe or Lusaka?
Kitwe has more tree cover: 16.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.3% around Lusaka, or about 52,779 trees against 41,783.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kitwe | Lusaka | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 52.8K (better) | 41.8K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 41.5K (better) | 68.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg (better) | 919K 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
Kitwe vs Lusaka: your questions answered
Is Kitwe cleaner than Lusaka?
On air quality, yes, right now: Kitwe reads AQI 52 against 113, a gap of 61 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Lusaka averaged AQI 67 against 70, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kitwe and Lusaka today?
In Kitwe, at AQI 52: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Lusaka, at AQI 113: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Kitwe or Lusaka?
Kitwe has lost more: about 955 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 8 ha around Lusaka. 387 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kitwe or Lusaka?
Kitwe has more tree cover: 16.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.3% around Lusaka, or about 52,779 trees against 41,783. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kitwe and Lusaka need?
Kitwe needs about 41,469 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Lusaka about 68,173 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kitwe and Lusaka 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. Lusaka is read from a nearby ground station and Kitwe 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 Kitwe vs Lusaka 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 18, 2026 and Sep 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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