City report · Cameroon
Bamenda Air quality today
Air quality in Bamenda currently reads AQI 90 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 90
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 36.6
- tree cover
- 20.6%
- trees in this area
- 64.7K
- more trees needed
- 29.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bamenda, Cameroon (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bamenda · AQI 90 (Moderate)
Bamenda's tree count comes to 64,717 trees across 12.57 km², 9 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 29,531 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bamenda today: AQI 90, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 21:00 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
36.6
PM10
43.9
NO₂
11.7
O₃
36.0
SO₂
2.3
CO
864.0
- 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 Bamenda's daily AQI at 95 on average, from 86 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 157 on Nov 9.
Where Bamenda stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bamenda: Below target
20.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
64,717
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
29,531
CO₂ if planted / yr
649.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bamenda lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bamenda has lost about 1,300 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) 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 southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,300 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 789 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 46 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 135 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2020, when about 209 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 | 8 ha | 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2002 | 15 ha | 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2004 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2005 | 26 ha | 2 ha | 28 ha |
| 2006 | 49 ha | 5 ha | 54 ha |
| 2007 | 29 ha | 7 ha | 36 ha |
| 2008 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2009 | 26 ha | 2 ha | 28 ha |
| 2010 | 51 ha | 2 ha | 54 ha |
| 2011 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2012 | 28 ha | 4 ha | 31 ha |
| 2013 | 16 ha | 3 ha | 20 ha |
| 2014 | 25 ha | 7 ha | 32 ha |
| 2015 | 23 ha | 8 ha | 32 ha |
| 2016 | 28 ha | 27 ha | 55 ha |
| 2017 | 75 ha | 26 ha | 101 ha |
| 2018 | 47 ha | 110 ha | 157 ha |
| 2019 | 51 ha | 103 ha | 154 ha |
| 2020 | 46 ha | 163 ha | 209 ha |
| 2021 | 49 ha | 24 ha | 72 ha |
| 2022 | 50 ha | 3 ha | 52 ha |
| 2023 | 26 ha | 7 ha | 32 ha |
| 2024 | 37 ha | 2 ha | 39 ha |
| 2025 | 29 ha | 4 ha | 33 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bamenda?
- Loggingcan grow back39% · 502 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good36% · 463 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good25% · 327 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
- 20,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 19,500 ha
- Overall change
- −841 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bamenda shrank from about 20,400 hectares to 19,500 hectares, a net loss of about 841 hectares (−4.1%). New forest grew on about 129 hectares, but 970 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 Bamenda
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Kumbo63.5 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 73
- Foumban87.2 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 154
- Nkongsamba114.0 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 52%
- Air quality
- 152
- Kumba166.3 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 66
- Gboko197.4 km
Nigeria
- Tree cover
- 8%
- Air quality
- 63
Also compared:Bamenda vs YaoundéBamenda vs Douala
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bamenda
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bamenda right now?
The latest reading for Bamenda shows an AQI of 90 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 21:00 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 Bamenda today?
At AQI 90 (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 Bamenda been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bamenda's daily AQI at 95 on average, from 86 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 157 on Nov 9. On 2 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Bamenda lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bamenda has lost about 1,300 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 46 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 135 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bamenda shrank from about 20,400 hectares to 19,500 hectares, a net loss of about 841 hectares (−4.1%). New forest grew on about 129 hectares, but 970 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bamenda?
Bamenda has an estimated 64,717 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 20.6% tree cover, 9 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bamenda need?
Bamenda needs roughly 29,531 more trees to close a 9-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 649.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bamenda'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 Bamenda; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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