City report · Ghana
Accra Air quality today
Air quality in Accra currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 55
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.4
- tree cover
- 11.0%
- trees in this area
- 32.9K
- more trees needed
- 56.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Victoriaborg, Accra, Ghana (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 29, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Accra · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Accra's tree count comes to 32,933 trees across 11.98 km² of land, 19 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 56,885 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Accra today: AQI 55, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:07 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Ridge Hospital, 700 m away · median of 40 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.4
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · Clarity, Breathe Accra
- 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 Accra's daily AQI at 45 on average, from 35 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 54 on Nov 8.
Where Accra stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Accra: Critically low
11.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.98 km² of land.
Trees in this area
32,933
Target trees
89,818
More trees needed
56,885
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,251 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Accra lost?
There was very little forest around Accra in 2000, about 5 hectares, and about 3 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Accra?
- Towns and roadscleared for good78% · 3 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good12% · under 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown6.2% · under 1 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
- 640 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 745 ha
- Overall change
- +105 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Accra grew from about 640 hectares to 745 hectares, a net gain of about 105 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 127 hectares, while 23 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 Accra
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Medina Estates12.8 km
Ghana
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 55
- Atsiaman21.4 km
Ghana
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 29
- Amanfrom22.4 km
Ghana
- Tree cover
- 3%
- Air quality
- 40
- Ashaiman24.0 km
Ghana
- Tree cover
- 2%
- Air quality
- 52
- Koforidua60.2 km
Ghana
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 56
- Cape Coast126.6 km
Ghana
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 53
Also compared:Accra vs KumasiAccra vs TamaleAccra vs Takoradi
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Frequently asked
Questions about Accra
What is the air quality (AQI) in Accra right now?
The latest reading for Accra shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:07 local time by 40 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Ridge Hospital, 700 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Accra today?
At AQI 55 (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 Accra been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Accra's daily AQI at 45 on average, from 35 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 54 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Accra lost since 2001?
There was very little forest around Accra in 2000, about 5 hectares, and about 3 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Accra grew from about 640 hectares to 745 hectares, a net gain of about 105 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 127 hectares, while 23 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Accra?
Accra has an estimated 32,933 trees across the 11.98 km² of land measured — 11.0% tree cover, 19 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Accra need?
Accra needs roughly 56,885 more trees to close a 19-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,251 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Accra's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Victoriaborg, 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 Victoriaborg; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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