City report · Nigeria
Abuja Air quality today
Air quality in Abuja currently reads AQI 89 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 89
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 29.4
- tree cover
- 26.5%
- trees in this area
- 83.3K
- more trees needed
- 11.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Central Business Dis, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 30, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Abuja · AQI 89 (Moderate)
Abuja's tree count comes to 83,252 trees across 12.57 km², 3 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 10,996 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Abuja today: AQI 89, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Federal Staff Hospital, Gwarinpa Abuja, 10.2 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
29.4
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Air Quality for Collective Public Health Action Project, WEP/DH360 Air Quality Monitoring Station, Abuja.
- Outdoor exercise
- 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
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Abuja's daily AQI at 130 on average, from 108 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 177 on Nov 6.
Where Abuja stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Abuja: Below target
26.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
83,252
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
10,996
CO₂ if planted / yr
241.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Abuja lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Abuja has lost about 93 hectares of forest (about 130 football pitches): 53% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (100%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 93 haabout 130 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 53%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 93 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2017, when about 11 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2007 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2011 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Abuja?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good70% · 65 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good30% · 28 ha
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 7,880 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,030 ha
- Overall change
- −849 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Abuja shrank from about 7,880 hectares to 7,030 hectares, a net loss of about 849 hectares (−11%). New forest grew on about 454 hectares, but 1,300 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Abuja
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Suleja37.2 km
Nigeria
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 99
- Minna121.0 km
Nigeria
- Tree cover
- 12%
- Air quality
- 87
- Lafia128.5 km
Nigeria
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 83
- Bida163.1 km
Nigeria
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 81
- Kaduna163.4 km
Nigeria
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 112
- Jos181.2 km
Nigeria
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 138
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Frequently asked
Questions about Abuja
What is the air quality (AQI) in Abuja right now?
The latest reading for Abuja shows an AQI of 89 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Federal Staff Hospital, Gwarinpa Abuja, 10.2 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Abuja today?
At AQI 89 (Moderate): 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. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Abuja been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Abuja's daily AQI at 130 on average, from 108 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 177 on Nov 6. On 7 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Abuja lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Abuja has lost about 93 hectares of forest (about 130 football pitches): 53% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (100%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Abuja shrank from about 7,880 hectares to 7,030 hectares, a net loss of about 849 hectares (−11%). New forest grew on about 454 hectares, but 1,300 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Abuja?
Abuja has an estimated 83,252 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 26.5% tree cover, 3 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Abuja need?
Abuja needs roughly 10,996 more trees to close a 3-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 241.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Abuja's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Central Business Dis, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Central Business Dis; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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