Air quality comparison · Zambia, 275 km apart
Lusaka vs Ndola Air quality index (AQI) today
Ndola has cleaner air than Lusaka right now: AQI 58 (Moderate) against 86 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Ndola averaged AQI 67 against 68, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Ndola has lost more forest since 2001. Ndola has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Lusaka86Ndola58
Head to head
Lusaka vs Ndola at a glance
Ndola is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Lusaka on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Lusaka | Ndola | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 86 | 58 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 27.8 | 11.8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 68 | 67 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 8 ha (better) | 2,860 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 13.3% | 22.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 52.5K | 22.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Lusaka and Ndola right now?
Ndola has cleaner air than Lusaka right now: AQI 58 (Moderate) against 86 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Lusaka's PM2.5 is about 1.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Lusaka is read from a nearby ground station and Ndola is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
LusakaNdola
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).
Lusaka: Ground station · Zambia Outdoor Demo, 14.4 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Communities Against Pollution (CAP).
Ndola: 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?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Ndola averaged AQI 67 against 68, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 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
- Lusaka3Ndola3
- Average AQI
- Lusaka68Ndola67
- Worst day, AQI
- Lusaka82Ndola79
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Lusaka | Ndola |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 61 | 64 |
| Nov 6 | 64 | 79 |
| Nov 7 | 82 | 74 |
| Nov 8 | 79 | 59 |
| Nov 9 | 78 | 71 |
| Nov 10 | 46 | 55 |
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 Lusaka and Ndola 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 Lusaka and Ndola compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Lusaka's air is cleaner than 27% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Ndola's is cleaner than 49%. Within Zambia, that is 18% and 47% of its 18 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Lusaka
- Beats 27%
- Ndola
- Beats 49%
More tree cover than…
- Lusaka
- Beats 30%
- Ndola
- Beats 53%
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, Lusaka or Ndola?
Ndola has lost more: about 2,860 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 8 ha around Lusaka. 278 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: 2009, with 4 ha lost.
Worst year: 2012, with 1,150 ha lost.
| Lusaka | Ndola | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 8 ha (better) | 2,860 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 8 ha (better) | 278 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (100%) | Logging (90%) |
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.
Lusaka
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Ndola
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Lusaka or Ndola?
Ndola has more tree cover: 22.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.3% around Lusaka, or about 71,628 trees against 41,783.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Lusaka | Ndola | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 41.8K | 71.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 52.5K | 22.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 919K kg | 1.6M kg (better) |
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
Lusaka vs Ndola: your questions answered
Is Ndola cleaner than Lusaka?
On air quality, yes, right now: Ndola reads AQI 58 against 86, a gap of 28 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Ndola averaged AQI 67 against 68, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Lusaka and Ndola today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Lusaka reads AQI 86 and Ndola reads AQI 58.
Which has lost more forest, Lusaka or Ndola?
Ndola has lost more: about 2,860 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 8 ha around Lusaka. 278 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Lusaka or Ndola?
Ndola has more tree cover: 22.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 13.3% around Lusaka, or about 71,628 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 Lusaka and Ndola need?
Lusaka needs about 52,465 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Ndola about 22,619 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Lusaka and Ndola 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 Ndola 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 Lusaka vs Ndola 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 17, 2026 and Sep 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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