City report · Tanzania
Bukoba Air quality today
Air quality in Bukoba currently reads AQI 64 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 64
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 16.1
- tree cover
- 33.0%
- trees in this area
- 92.0K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Bukoba, Tanzania (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bukoba · AQI 64 (Moderate)
Bukoba's tree count comes to 91,958 trees across 11.15 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bukoba today: AQI 64, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 205 km, e.g. Kajjansi and Kyengera
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
16.1
PM10
10.6
NO₂
0.8
O₃
66.0
SO₂
0.4
CO
222.0
- 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 Bukoba's daily AQI at 38 on average, from 14 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 68 on Nov 7.
Where Bukoba stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bukoba: Healthy tree cover
33.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.15 km² of land.
Trees in this area
91,958
Target trees
91,958
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bukoba lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bukoba has lost about 681 hectares of forest (about 950 football pitches): 18% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 309 hectares (45%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 681 haabout 950 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 18%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 309 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 61 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 53 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 144 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 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | 14 ha | 4 ha | 18 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2009 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | 18 ha | 22 ha |
| 2012 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2013 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2014 | 8 ha | 2 ha | 10 ha |
| 2015 | 9 ha | 10 ha | 19 ha |
| 2016 | 12 ha | 7 ha | 19 ha |
| 2017 | 9 ha | 5 ha | 14 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | 9 ha | 14 ha |
| 2019 | 42 ha | 102 ha | 144 ha |
| 2020 | 31 ha | 45 ha | 76 ha |
| 2021 | 60 ha | 49 ha | 109 ha |
| 2022 | 30 ha | 30 ha | 59 ha |
| 2023 | 11 ha | 19 ha | 31 ha |
| 2024 | 23 ha | 27 ha | 51 ha |
| 2025 | 26 ha | 31 ha | 57 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bukoba?
- Loggingcan grow back53% · 358 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good37% · 253 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.2% · 56 ha
Also: shifting farming, 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
- 10,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 10,600 ha
- Overall change
- −271 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bukoba shrank from about 10,900 hectares to 10,600 hectares, a net loss of about 271 hectares (−2.5%). New forest grew on about 297 hectares, but 568 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 Bukoba
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bukoba right now?
The latest reading for Bukoba shows an AQI of 64 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 205 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 Bukoba today?
At AQI 64 (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 Bukoba been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bukoba's daily AQI at 38 on average, from 14 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 68 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 Bukoba lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bukoba has lost about 681 hectares of forest (about 950 football pitches): 18% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 309 hectares (45%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 61 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 53 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bukoba shrank from about 10,900 hectares to 10,600 hectares, a net loss of about 271 hectares (−2.5%). New forest grew on about 297 hectares, but 568 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bukoba?
Bukoba has an estimated 91,958 trees across the 11.15 km² of land measured — 33.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bukoba need?
Bukoba has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Bukoba'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 Bukoba; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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