City report · Cameroon
Bafoussam Air quality today
Air quality in Bafoussam currently reads AQI 161 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
AQI 161
Air quality right now
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 66.6
- tree cover
- 12.5%
- trees in this area
- 39.3K
- more trees needed
- 86.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bafoussam, Cameroon (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Nov 1, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bafoussam · AQI 161 (Unhealthy)
Bafoussam's tree count comes to 39,270 trees across 12.57 km², 28 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 86,394 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bafoussam today: AQI 161, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Douala and Yaoundé
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
66.6
PM10
43.3
NO₂
0.8
O₃
75.0
SO₂
0.7
CO
180.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it
- Windows
- Keep them closed
- Mask
- Wear an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bafoussam's daily AQI at 109 on average, from 96 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 173 on Nov 8.
Where Bafoussam stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bafoussam: Critically low
12.5% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
39,270
Target trees
125,664
More trees needed
86,394
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,901 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bafoussam lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bafoussam has lost about 302 hectares of forest (about 420 football pitches): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (93%) 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 6 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 302 haabout 420 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 283 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2021, when about 45 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 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2002 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2004 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | 25 ha | 2 ha | 27 ha |
| 2007 | 10 ha | 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2008 | 10 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2009 | 16 ha | 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2010 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2011 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2012 | 14 ha | 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2013 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2019 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2021 | 44 ha | under 1 ha | 45 ha |
| 2022 | 31 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2023 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2024 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2025 | 3 ha | 4 ha | 7 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bafoussam?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good53% · 160 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good41% · 123 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown6.6% · 20 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
- 26,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 26,000 ha
- Overall change
- −251 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bafoussam stayed about the same size, at about 26,000 hectares: new forest grew on about 97 hectares, and about 348 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 Bafoussam
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Foumban60.0 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 154
- Nkongsamba78.6 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 52%
- Air quality
- 152
- Kumbo84.9 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 73
- Kumba142.5 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 66
Also compared:Bafoussam vs Yaoundé
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bafoussam
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bafoussam right now?
The latest reading for Bafoussam shows an AQI of 161 (Unhealthy), observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bafoussam today?
At AQI 161 (Unhealthy): everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it. Windows: keep them closed. Masks: wear an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Bafoussam been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bafoussam's daily AQI at 109 on average, from 96 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 173 on Nov 8. On 5 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Bafoussam lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bafoussam has lost about 302 hectares of forest (about 420 football pitches): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (93%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bafoussam stayed about the same size, at about 26,000 hectares: new forest grew on about 97 hectares, and about 348 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bafoussam?
Bafoussam has an estimated 39,270 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 12.5% tree cover, 28 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bafoussam need?
Bafoussam needs roughly 86,394 more trees to close a 28-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 1,901 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bafoussam'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 Bafoussam; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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