City report · Anambra, Nigeria
Awka Air quality today
Air quality in Awka currently reads AQI 82 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 82
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 27.3
- tree cover
- 13.1%
- trees in this area
- 41.2K
- more trees needed
- 53.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Awka, Anambra, Nigeria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Feb 5, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Awka · AQI 82 (Moderate)
Awka's tree count comes to 41,155 trees across 12.57 km², 17 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 53,093 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Awka today: AQI 82, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 165 km, e.g. Nsukka and Port Harcourt
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
27.3
PM10
25.0
NO₂
1.6
O₃
92.0
SO₂
1.3
CO
375.0
- 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 Awka's daily AQI at 99 on average, from 85 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 182 on Nov 7.
Where Awka stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Awka: Critically low
13.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
41,155
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
53,093
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,168 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Awka lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Awka has lost about 312 hectares of forest (about 440 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) 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 east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 312 haabout 440 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 14%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 307 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 65 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 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2013 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2017 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2018 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2020 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2021 | 57 ha | under 1 ha | 57 ha |
| 2022 | 49 ha | under 1 ha | 49 ha |
| 2023 | 65 ha | under 1 ha | 65 ha |
| 2024 | 35 ha | under 1 ha | 35 ha |
| 2025 | 33 ha | 4 ha | 37 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Awka?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good86% · 269 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good12% · 38 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown1.8% · 6 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
- 11,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 11,500 ha
- Overall change
- −479 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Awka shrank from about 11,900 hectares to 11,500 hectares, a net loss of about 479 hectares (−4%). New forest grew on about 338 hectares, but 817 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Awka
What is the air quality (AQI) in Awka right now?
The latest reading for Awka shows an AQI of 82 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 165 km, 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 Awka today?
At AQI 82 (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 Awka been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Awka's daily AQI at 99 on average, from 85 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 182 on Nov 7. On 4 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Awka lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Awka has lost about 312 hectares of forest (about 440 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Awka shrank from about 11,900 hectares to 11,500 hectares, a net loss of about 479 hectares (−4%). New forest grew on about 338 hectares, but 817 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Awka?
Awka has an estimated 41,155 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 13.1% tree cover, 17 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Awka need?
Awka needs roughly 53,093 more trees to close a 17-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,168 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Awka'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 Awka; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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