City report · Malawi
Blantyre Air quality today
Air quality in Blantyre currently reads AQI 87 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 87
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 28.5
- tree cover
- 29.7%
- trees in this area
- 93.3K
- more trees needed
- 942
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kabula, Blantyre, Malawi (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Blantyre · AQI 87 (Moderate)
Blantyre's tree count comes to 93,305 trees across 12.57 km², 0 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 942 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Blantyre today: AQI 87, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Blantyre, CBD, 300 m away · median of 6 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
28.5
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, MUBAS Air Quality, Shift iT, BloomBox Design Labs
- 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 Blantyre's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 38 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 93 on Nov 8.
Where Blantyre stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Blantyre: Below target
29.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
93,305
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
942
CO₂ if planted / yr
20.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Blantyre lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Blantyre has lost about 1,000 hectares of forest (about 1,400 football pitches): 29% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,000 haabout 1,400 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 29%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 948 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is speeding up: about 101 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 10 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2024, when about 245 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 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2003 | 40 ha | 5 ha | 45 ha |
| 2004 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2005 | 75 ha | under 1 ha | 75 ha |
| 2006 | 33 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2007 | 22 ha | 6 ha | 27 ha |
| 2008 | 34 ha | 3 ha | 37 ha |
| 2009 | 9 ha | 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2010 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2011 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2012 | 16 ha | 5 ha | 21 ha |
| 2013 | 71 ha | under 1 ha | 71 ha |
| 2014 | 43 ha | under 1 ha | 43 ha |
| 2015 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2019 | 21 ha | 2 ha | 23 ha |
| 2020 | 3 ha | 8 ha | 11 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2022 | 96 ha | 10 ha | 106 ha |
| 2023 | 137 ha | 2 ha | 139 ha |
| 2024 | 245 ha | under 1 ha | 245 ha |
| 2025 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Blantyre?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good90% · 897 ha
- Loggingcan grow back5.1% · 51 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good5.1% · 51 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
- 5,610 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,570 ha
- Overall change
- −1,040 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Blantyre shrank from about 5,610 hectares to 4,570 hectares, a net loss of about 1,040 hectares (−18%). New forest grew on about 110 hectares, but 1,150 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 Blantyre
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Tete157.5 km
Mozambique
- Tree cover
- 12%
- Air quality
- 72
- Mandimba173.6 km
Mozambique
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 51
- Gurúè213.8 km
Mozambique
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 31
- Mocuba241.3 km
Mozambique
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 41
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Frequently asked
Questions about Blantyre
What is the air quality (AQI) in Blantyre right now?
The latest reading for Blantyre shows an AQI of 87 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 18:00 local time by 6 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Blantyre, CBD, 300 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Blantyre today?
At AQI 87 (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 Blantyre been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Blantyre's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 38 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 93 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Blantyre lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Blantyre has lost about 1,000 hectares of forest (about 1,400 football pitches): 29% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is speeding up: about 101 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 10 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Blantyre shrank from about 5,610 hectares to 4,570 hectares, a net loss of about 1,040 hectares (−18%). New forest grew on about 110 hectares, but 1,150 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Blantyre?
Blantyre has an estimated 93,305 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 29.7% tree cover, 0 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Blantyre need?
Blantyre needs roughly 942 more trees to close a 0-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 20.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Blantyre's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kabula, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. 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 Kabula; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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