City report · Zimbabwe
Bulawayo Air quality today
Air quality in Bulawayo currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 53
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.5
- tree cover
- 14.1%
- trees in this area
- 44.3K
- more trees needed
- 50.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Makokoba, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bulawayo · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Bulawayo's tree count comes to 44,296 trees across 12.57 km², 16 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 49,951 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bulawayo today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 02:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 250 km, e.g. Gweru and Kadoma
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.5
PM10
6.1
NO₂
3.0
O₃
52.0
SO₂
1.0
CO
146.0
- 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 Bulawayo's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 13 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 85 on Nov 7.
Where Bulawayo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bulawayo: Critically low
14.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
44,296
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
49,951
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,099 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bulawayo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bulawayo has lost about 35 hectares of forest (about 49 football pitches): 25% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 35 haabout 49 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 25%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 35 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2011, when about 9 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 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 Bulawayo?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good90% · 32 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.5% · 3 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown1.4% · under 1 ha
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
- 739 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 836 ha
- Overall change
- +97 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bulawayo grew from about 739 hectares to 836 hectares, a net gain of about 97 hectares (+13%). New forest grew on about 113 hectares, while 15 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 Bulawayo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Francistown159.3 km
Botswana
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 36
- Kwekwe187.4 km
Zimbabwe
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 32
- Kadoma245.7 km
Zimbabwe
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 44
- Serowe315.5 km
Botswana
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 52
- Chitungwiza353.6 km
Zimbabwe
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 41
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bulawayo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bulawayo right now?
The latest reading for Bulawayo shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 02:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 250 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 Bulawayo today?
At AQI 53 (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 Bulawayo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bulawayo's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 13 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 85 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 Bulawayo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bulawayo has lost about 35 hectares of forest (about 49 football pitches): 25% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bulawayo grew from about 739 hectares to 836 hectares, a net gain of about 97 hectares (+13%). New forest grew on about 113 hectares, while 15 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bulawayo?
Bulawayo has an estimated 44,296 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 14.1% tree cover, 16 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bulawayo need?
Bulawayo needs roughly 49,951 more trees to close a 16-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,099 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bulawayo'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 Makokoba; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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