City report · Sierra Leone
Bo Air quality today
Air quality in Bo currently reads AQI 93 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 93
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 32.2
- tree cover
- 22.3%
- trees in this area
- 70.1K
- more trees needed
- 24.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bo, Sierra Leone (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Apr 27, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bo · AQI 93 (Moderate)
Bo's tree count comes to 70,058 trees across 12.57 km², 8 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 24,190 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bo today: AQI 93, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 08:00 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. Freetown and Monrovia
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
32.2
PM10
18.2
NO₂
5.4
O₃
36.0
SO₂
0.5
CO
209.0
- 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 Bo's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 44 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 66 on Nov 8.
Where Bo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bo: Below target
22.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
70,058
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
24,190
CO₂ if planted / yr
532.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bo has lost about 16,600 hectares of forest (about 23,000 football pitches): 64% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 2,940 hectares (18%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 16,600 haabout 23,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 64%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 2,940 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 810 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 1,340 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 1,650 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 | 152 ha | 49 ha | 201 ha |
| 2002 | 33 ha | 51 ha | 83 ha |
| 2003 | 40 ha | 9 ha | 49 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2005 | 82 ha | 13 ha | 95 ha |
| 2006 | 188 ha | 79 ha | 267 ha |
| 2007 | 52 ha | 39 ha | 91 ha |
| 2008 | 79 ha | 101 ha | 180 ha |
| 2009 | 78 ha | 78 ha | 156 ha |
| 2010 | 13 ha | 26 ha | 39 ha |
| 2011 | 167 ha | 86 ha | 253 ha |
| 2012 | 29 ha | 82 ha | 110 ha |
| 2013 | 284 ha | 1,260 ha | 1,550 ha |
| 2014 | 290 ha | 1,060 ha | 1,350 ha |
| 2015 | 226 ha | 1,200 ha | 1,430 ha |
| 2016 | 234 ha | 1,080 ha | 1,320 ha |
| 2017 | 238 ha | 1,410 ha | 1,650 ha |
| 2018 | 106 ha | 962 ha | 1,070 ha |
| 2019 | 189 ha | 1,370 ha | 1,560 ha |
| 2020 | 136 ha | 971 ha | 1,110 ha |
| 2021 | 82 ha | 818 ha | 900 ha |
| 2022 | 74 ha | 830 ha | 904 ha |
| 2023 | 33 ha | 553 ha | 586 ha |
| 2024 | 85 ha | 873 ha | 958 ha |
| 2025 | 50 ha | 650 ha | 700 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bo?
- Shifting farmingcan grow back82% · 13,700 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good10% · 1,700 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good7.2% · 1,190 ha
Also: mining and energy.
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
- 25,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 21,700 ha
- Overall change
- −4,040 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bo shrank from about 25,700 hectares to 21,700 hectares, a net loss of about 4,040 hectares (−16%). New forest grew on about 608 hectares, but 4,650 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 Bo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bo right now?
The latest reading for Bo shows an AQI of 93 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 08:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bo today?
At AQI 93 (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 Bo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bo's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 44 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 66 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 Bo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bo has lost about 16,600 hectares of forest (about 23,000 football pitches): 64% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 2,940 hectares (18%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 810 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 1,340 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bo shrank from about 25,700 hectares to 21,700 hectares, a net loss of about 4,040 hectares (−16%). New forest grew on about 608 hectares, but 4,650 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bo?
Bo has an estimated 70,058 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 22.3% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bo need?
Bo needs roughly 24,190 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 532.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bo'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 Bo; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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