City report · Guinea-Bissau
Bissau Air quality today
Air quality in Bissau currently reads AQI 125 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 125
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 42.9
- tree cover
- 27.0%
- trees in this area
- 84.8K
- more trees needed
- 25.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bissau, Guinea-Bissau (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 31, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bissau · AQI 125 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Bissau's tree count comes to 84,823 trees across 12.57 km², 8 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 25,133 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bissau today: AQI 125, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 22:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Ziguinchor and Sandally
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
42.9
PM10
57.4
NO₂
1.6
O₃
63.0
SO₂
0.7
CO
250.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bissau's daily AQI at 92 on average, from 82 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 119 on Nov 10.
Where Bissau stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bissau: Below target
27.0% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
84,823
Target trees
109,956
More trees needed
25,133
CO₂ if planted / yr
552.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bissau lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bissau has lost about 722 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): 28% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 722 haabout 1,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 28%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 721 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 149 hectares of forest were lost.
Bissau's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2002 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2006 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2007 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2008 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2009 | 149 ha | under 1 ha | 149 ha |
| 2010 | 75 ha | under 1 ha | 75 ha |
| 2011 | 24 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2012 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2013 | 56 ha | under 1 ha | 56 ha |
| 2014 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2015 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2016 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2017 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2018 | 31 ha | under 1 ha | 31 ha |
| 2019 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2020 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2021 | 37 ha | under 1 ha | 37 ha |
| 2022 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2023 | 35 ha | under 1 ha | 35 ha |
| 2024 | 40 ha | under 1 ha | 40 ha |
| 2025 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bissau?
- Towns and roadscleared for good53% · 380 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good47% · 340 ha
Also: mining and energy, 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
- 6,670 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,660 ha
- Overall change
- −2,010 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bissau shrank from about 6,670 hectares to 4,660 hectares, a net loss of about 2,010 hectares (−30%). New forest grew on about 59 hectares, but 2,060 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 Bissau
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Ziguinchor107.4 km
Senegal
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 49
- Kolda134.9 km
Senegal
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 92
- Nema Kunku157.2 km
Gambia
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 82
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bissau
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bissau right now?
The latest reading for Bissau shows an AQI of 125 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 10, 22:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bissau today?
At AQI 125 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Bissau been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bissau's daily AQI at 92 on average, from 82 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 119 on Nov 10. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Bissau lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bissau has lost about 722 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): 28% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bissau shrank from about 6,670 hectares to 4,660 hectares, a net loss of about 2,010 hectares (−30%). New forest grew on about 59 hectares, but 2,060 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bissau?
Bissau has an estimated 84,823 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 27.0% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bissau need?
Bissau needs roughly 25,133 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 552.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bissau'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 Bissau; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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