City report · Burundi
Bujumbura Air quality today
Air quality in Bujumbura currently reads AQI 73 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 73
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 20.5
- tree cover
- 15.4%
- trees in this area
- 45.1K
- more trees needed
- 42.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bujumbura, Burundi (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 3, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bujumbura · AQI 73 (Moderate)
Bujumbura's tree count comes to 45,091 trees across 11.72 km² of land, 15 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 42,748 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bujumbura today: AQI 73, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 01:00 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
20.5
PM10
21.6
NO₂
7.4
O₃
32.0
SO₂
1.1
CO
368.0
- 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 Bujumbura's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 51 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 87 on Nov 7.
Where Bujumbura stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bujumbura: Critically low
15.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.72 km² of land.
Trees in this area
45,091
Target trees
87,839
More trees needed
42,748
CO₂ if planted / yr
940.5 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bujumbura lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bujumbura has lost about 115 hectares of forest (about 160 football pitches): 3.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 115 haabout 160 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 101 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2003, when about 15 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 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 13 ha |
| 2002 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 13 ha | 3 ha | 15 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2008 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2011 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2012 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2013 | 8 ha | 2 ha | 10 ha |
| 2014 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bujumbura?
- Towns and roadscleared for good62% · 71 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good26% · 30 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back7.2% · 8 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
- 3,160 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,930 ha
- Overall change
- −228 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bujumbura shrank from about 3,160 hectares to 2,930 hectares, a net loss of about 228 hectares (−7.2%). New forest grew on about 23 hectares, but 251 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 Bujumbura
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
Build your own
Compare Bujumbura with anywhere
This place
Bujumbura
Use this data
Put Bujumbura's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Bujumbura
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bujumbura right now?
The latest reading for Bujumbura shows an AQI of 73 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 01:00 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 Bujumbura today?
At AQI 73 (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 Bujumbura been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bujumbura's daily AQI at 61 on average, from 51 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 87 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Bujumbura lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bujumbura has lost about 115 hectares of forest (about 160 football pitches): 3.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bujumbura shrank from about 3,160 hectares to 2,930 hectares, a net loss of about 228 hectares (−7.2%). New forest grew on about 23 hectares, but 251 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bujumbura?
Bujumbura has an estimated 45,091 trees across the 11.72 km² of land measured — 15.4% tree cover, 15 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bujumbura need?
Bujumbura needs roughly 42,748 more trees to close a 15-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 940.5 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bujumbura'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 Bujumbura; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address