Asmara
2 km around Asmara
Air quality now
AQI 18
4.3%
tree cover
80.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Africa · air quality report · 5 cities
Eritrea air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Eritrea average AQI 33 (good). The worst air is in Massawa, at AQI 58, and the cleanest in Asmara, at AQI 18.
None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 80% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 33
Good
US EPA index, across 5 cities
- cities measured
- 5
- worst air: Massawa
- 58
- cleanest air: Asmara
- 18
- average tree cover
- 3.0%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Eritrea · average AQI 33
Air quality right now in all 5 cities in Eritrea
Good
Keren
2 km around Keren
Air quality now
AQI 19
3.7%
tree cover
82.6K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Himora
2 km around Gash-Barka Region
Air quality now
AQI 22
4.7%
tree cover
79.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Af’abet
2 km around Afabet
Air quality now
AQI 47
0.1%
tree cover
93.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Massawa
2 km around Massawa
Air quality now
AQI 58
2.2%
tree cover
24.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Eritrea today?
None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 80% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
5 measured cities
- Good4 (80%)
- Moderate1 (20%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How does Eritrea compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Eritrea average cleaner air than 82% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 6%.
Cleaner air than…
- Eritrea
- Beats 82%
More tree cover than…
- Eritrea
- Beats 6%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Eritrea lost?
There was very little forest in Eritrea in 2000, about 5 hectares, and about 3 hectares of it has been lost since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | 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 |
The worst year was 2001, when about 2 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Eritrea?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good40% · 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown56% · 1 ha
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
Eritrea as a whole
12.0% of Eritrea was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. Closing that gap nationally would take roughly 2.2B trees across 2.2M hectares. Source: World Bank (FAO).
Build your own
Compare Eritrea with another country
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Eritrea
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Eritrea
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
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NIOSH-approved N95 masks and P100 respirators for smog and smoke, and how to get the fit right. Cloth and surgical masks do little against PM2.5.
Frequently asked
Air quality in Eritrea: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Eritrea today?
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Eritrea average AQI 33 (good). The worst air is in Massawa, at AQI 58, and the cleanest in Asmara, at AQI 18. None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 80% have Good air.
Which city in Eritrea has the worst air right now?
Massawa, at AQI 58 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in Eritrea has the cleanest air right now?
Asmara, at AQI 18 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Eritrea has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Eritrea safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 4 cities are Good, 1 city is Moderate. At the national average of AQI 33: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has Eritrea lost since 2001?
About 3 ha from 2001 to 2025, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 1 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Eritrea?
Each city's reading is the US EPA air quality index, from ground monitoring stations where one has reported recently nearby, and from the CAMS atmospheric model elsewhere; each city's report says which. Tree cover is measured over the same 2 km radius in every city, so the cities compare like for like.
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