City report · South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Bukavu Air quality today
Air quality in Bukavu currently reads AQI 38 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 38
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 7.2
- tree cover
- 11.9%
- trees in this area
- 27.3K
- more trees needed
- 41.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Karhora, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 20, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bukavu · AQI 38 (Good)
Bukavu's tree count comes to 27,291 trees across 9.18 km² of land, 18 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 41,510 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bukavu today: AQI 38, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
7.2
PM10
7.9
NO₂
2.0
O₃
54.0
SO₂
0.4
CO
282.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bukavu's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 39 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 81 on Nov 9.
Where Bukavu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bukavu: Critically low
11.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.18 km² of land.
Trees in this area
27,291
Target trees
68,801
More trees needed
41,510
CO₂ if planted / yr
913.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bukavu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bukavu has lost about 2,100 hectares of forest (about 2,900 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,100 haabout 2,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 16%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,470 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 146 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 145 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2024, when about 199 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 | 18 ha | 5 ha | 22 ha |
| 2002 | 25 ha | 10 ha | 35 ha |
| 2003 | 12 ha | 8 ha | 20 ha |
| 2004 | 22 ha | 5 ha | 26 ha |
| 2005 | 22 ha | 3 ha | 24 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | 23 ha | 2 ha | 25 ha |
| 2008 | 15 ha | 9 ha | 24 ha |
| 2009 | 40 ha | 30 ha | 69 ha |
| 2010 | 20 ha | 5 ha | 26 ha |
| 2011 | 21 ha | 12 ha | 33 ha |
| 2012 | 6 ha | 12 ha | 17 ha |
| 2013 | 41 ha | 47 ha | 88 ha |
| 2014 | 56 ha | 41 ha | 97 ha |
| 2015 | 100 ha | 36 ha | 136 ha |
| 2016 | 150 ha | 40 ha | 190 ha |
| 2017 | 105 ha | 47 ha | 152 ha |
| 2018 | 114 ha | 38 ha | 152 ha |
| 2019 | 42 ha | 41 ha | 83 ha |
| 2020 | 101 ha | 45 ha | 146 ha |
| 2021 | 103 ha | 43 ha | 146 ha |
| 2022 | 71 ha | 26 ha | 97 ha |
| 2023 | 134 ha | 40 ha | 174 ha |
| 2024 | 151 ha | 48 ha | 199 ha |
| 2025 | 83 ha | 30 ha | 113 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bukavu?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good66% · 1,380 ha
- Loggingcan grow back29% · 611 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good4.6% · 97 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
- 11,600 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 11,400 ha
- Overall change
- −230 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bukavu stayed about the same size, at about 11,400 hectares: new forest grew on about 290 hectares, and about 521 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 Bukavu
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Cibitoke54.0 km
Burundi
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 61
- Gisenyi98.9 km
Rwanda
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 47
- Uvira105.8 km
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 52
- Gitarama111.6 km
Rwanda
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 63
- Bujumbura114.6 km
Burundi
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 73
- Ngozi119.1 km
Burundi
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 56
Also compared:Bukavu vs Kigali
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bukavu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bukavu right now?
The latest reading for Bukavu shows an AQI of 38 (Good), observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bukavu today?
At AQI 38 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Bukavu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bukavu's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 39 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 81 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Bukavu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bukavu has lost about 2,100 hectares of forest (about 2,900 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 146 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 145 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bukavu stayed about the same size, at about 11,400 hectares: new forest grew on about 290 hectares, and about 521 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bukavu?
Bukavu has an estimated 27,291 trees across the 9.18 km² of land measured — 11.9% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bukavu need?
Bukavu needs roughly 41,510 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 913.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bukavu'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 Karhora; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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