City report · Ghana
Cape Coast Air quality today
Air quality in Cape Coast currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 53
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.0
- tree cover
- 25.5%
- trees in this area
- 41.7K
- more trees needed
- 7.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Cape Coast, Ghana (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 29, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cape Coast · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Cape Coast's tree count comes to 41,658 trees across 6.54 km² of land, 4 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 7,351 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cape Coast today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 15:57 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · CCMA Office, 700 m away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.0
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · Clarity, Ghana AQ
- 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 Cape Coast's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 35 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 7.
Where Cape Coast stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cape Coast: Below target
25.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 6.54 km² of land.
Trees in this area
41,658
Target trees
49,009
More trees needed
7,351
CO₂ if planted / yr
161.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cape Coast lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cape Coast has lost about 2,250 hectares of forest (about 3,100 football pitches): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,250 haabout 3,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 39%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 2,250 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 73 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 105 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2001, when about 225 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 | 225 ha | under 1 ha | 225 ha |
| 2002 | 178 ha | under 1 ha | 178 ha |
| 2003 | 72 ha | under 1 ha | 72 ha |
| 2004 | 55 ha | under 1 ha | 55 ha |
| 2005 | 60 ha | under 1 ha | 60 ha |
| 2006 | 101 ha | under 1 ha | 101 ha |
| 2007 | 52 ha | under 1 ha | 52 ha |
| 2008 | 84 ha | under 1 ha | 84 ha |
| 2009 | 70 ha | under 1 ha | 70 ha |
| 2010 | 43 ha | under 1 ha | 43 ha |
| 2011 | 216 ha | under 1 ha | 216 ha |
| 2012 | 76 ha | under 1 ha | 76 ha |
| 2013 | 42 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2014 | 65 ha | under 1 ha | 65 ha |
| 2015 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2016 | 80 ha | under 1 ha | 80 ha |
| 2017 | 68 ha | under 1 ha | 68 ha |
| 2018 | 190 ha | under 1 ha | 190 ha |
| 2019 | 63 ha | under 1 ha | 63 ha |
| 2020 | 122 ha | under 1 ha | 122 ha |
| 2021 | 107 ha | under 1 ha | 107 ha |
| 2022 | 60 ha | under 1 ha | 60 ha |
| 2023 | 90 ha | under 1 ha | 90 ha |
| 2024 | 39 ha | under 1 ha | 39 ha |
| 2025 | 68 ha | under 1 ha | 68 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Cape Coast?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good56% · 1,270 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good44% · 980 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
- 3,650 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,780 ha
- Overall change
- −875 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cape Coast shrank from about 3,650 hectares to 2,780 hectares, a net loss of about 875 hectares (−24%). New forest grew on about 399 hectares, but 1,280 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 Cape Coast
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cape Coast right now?
The latest reading for Cape Coast shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 15:57 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is CCMA Office, 700 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Cape Coast 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 Cape Coast been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cape Coast's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 35 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 55 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 Cape Coast lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cape Coast has lost about 2,250 hectares of forest (about 3,100 football pitches): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (over 99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 73 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 105 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cape Coast shrank from about 3,650 hectares to 2,780 hectares, a net loss of about 875 hectares (−24%). New forest grew on about 399 hectares, but 1,280 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Cape Coast?
Cape Coast has an estimated 41,658 trees across the 6.54 km² of land measured — 25.5% tree cover, 4 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cape Coast need?
Cape Coast needs roughly 7,351 more trees to close a 4-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 161.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Cape Coast's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Cape Coast, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. 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 Cape Coast; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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