City report · Ethiopia
Addis Ababa Air quality today
Air quality in Addis Ababa currently reads AQI 54 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 54
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.8
- tree cover
- 9.8%
- trees in this area
- 30.8K
- more trees needed
- 63.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Gola Sefer, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 9, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Addis Ababa · AQI 54 (Moderate)
Addis Ababa's tree count comes to 30,788 trees across 12.57 km², 20 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 63,460 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Addis Ababa today: AQI 54, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
6.8
PM10
8.6
NO₂
0.0
O₃
71.0
SO₂
1.1
CO
321.0
- 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 Addis Ababa's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 46 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 92 on Nov 11.
Where Addis Ababa stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Addis Ababa: Critically low
9.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
30,788
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
63,460
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,396 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Addis Ababa lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Addis Ababa has lost about 757 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 49% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 60 hectares (8%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 757 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 49%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 60 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 52 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 37 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2021, when about 100 hectares of forest were lost.
Addis Ababa's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | 28 ha | 29 ha |
| 2002 | 8 ha | 3 ha | 11 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 8 ha | 58 ha | 66 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | 5 ha | 8 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2010 | 3 ha | 12 ha | 15 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 12 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | 84 ha | 87 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 15 ha | 15 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | 30 ha | 34 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 10 ha |
| 2016 | 7 ha | 25 ha | 32 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | 59 ha | 62 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 62 ha | 62 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 10 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | 17 ha | 18 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 99 ha | 100 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | 58 ha | 60 ha |
| 2023 | 4 ha | 9 ha | 14 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | 42 ha | 46 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 42 ha | 42 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Addis Ababa?
- Loggingcan grow back92% · 697 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8% · 60 ha
Also: unknown causes.
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
- 6,340 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,390 ha
- Overall change
- +55 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Addis Ababa stayed about the same size, at about 6,390 hectares: new forest grew on about 667 hectares, and about 612 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 Addis Ababa
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Sebeta18.7 km
Ethiopia
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 75
- Bishoftu39.6 km
Ethiopia
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 58
- Debre Birhan112.8 km
Ethiopia
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 25
- Āsela126.9 km
Ethiopia
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 27
- Debre Mark’os184.5 km
Ethiopia
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 25
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Frequently asked
Questions about Addis Ababa
What is the air quality (AQI) in Addis Ababa right now?
The latest reading for Addis Ababa shows an AQI of 54 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Addis Ababa today?
At AQI 54 (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 Addis Ababa been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Addis Ababa's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 46 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 92 on Nov 11. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Addis Ababa lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Addis Ababa has lost about 757 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 49% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 60 hectares (8%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is speeding up: about 52 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 37 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Addis Ababa stayed about the same size, at about 6,390 hectares: new forest grew on about 667 hectares, and about 612 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Addis Ababa?
Addis Ababa has an estimated 30,788 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 9.8% tree cover, 20 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Addis Ababa need?
Addis Ababa needs roughly 63,460 more trees to close a 20-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,396 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Addis Ababa's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Gola Sefer; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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