Nairobi
2 km around Nairobi Central
Air quality now
AQI 28
26.2%
tree cover
11.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Africa · air quality report · 26 cities
Kenya air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 26 cities Airleaf measures in Kenya average AQI 40 (good). The worst air is in Kikuyu, at AQI 33, and the cleanest in Karuri, at AQI 28.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 30 across 8 cities. 4% of the 26 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 81% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 40
Good
US EPA index, across 26 cities
- cities measured
- 26
- worst air: Kikuyu
- 33
- cleanest air: Karuri
- 28
- average tree cover
- 29.0%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kenya · average AQI 40
Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in Kenya
Good
Kakamega
2 km around Kakamega
Air quality now
AQI 64
53.4%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Mombasa
2 km around Kinyozi
Air quality now
AQI 43
11.9%
tree cover
47.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Nakuru
2 km around Racecourse
Air quality now
AQI 24
14.6%
tree cover
46.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Eldoret
2 km around Eldoret
Air quality now
AQI 49
19.2%
tree cover
33.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Ruiru
2 km around Ruiru
Air quality now
AQI 28
10.2%
tree cover
62.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Kisumu
2 km around Kisumu
Air quality now
AQI 77
22.9%
tree cover
21.1K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Kikuyu
2 km around Kikuyu
Air quality now
AQI 33
44.7%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Kenya today?
4% of the 26 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 81% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
26 measured cities
- Good21 (81%)
- Moderate4 (15%)
- Unhealthy1 (4%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
In aggregate
Kenya in numbers
Every figure below is read the same way over the same 2 km area per city, so they add up and compare like for like. Averaged across the 26 of 26 cities measured so far in Kenya.
- Average air quality
- AQI 40Mean of the latest reading per city
- Average tree cover
- 29.0%15 of 26 below their target
- Trees counted
- 2.3MAcross every measured area
- More trees needed
- 604KTo bring each area to its target
Worst air quality right now
Cleanest air right now
Greenest cities in Kenya
Least tree cover in Kenya
Excludes barren and desert sites
Against everywhere else
How does Kenya compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Kenya average cleaner air than 74% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 65%.
Cleaner air than…
- Kenya
- Beats 74%
More tree cover than…
- Kenya
- Beats 65%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kenya lost?
Since 2001, Kenya has lost about 410,000 hectares of forest (about 4,100 km²): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (75%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 410,000 haabout 4,100 km²
- Share of its forest
- 12%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 308,000 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 15,400 ha | 3,960 ha | 19,300 ha |
| 2002 | 15,200 ha | 5,150 ha | 20,300 ha |
| 2003 | 10,200 ha | 3,330 ha | 13,500 ha |
| 2004 | 14,400 ha | 2,510 ha | 16,900 ha |
| 2005 | 10,600 ha | 2,200 ha | 12,800 ha |
| 2006 | 16,800 ha | 3,580 ha | 20,400 ha |
| 2007 | 20,800 ha | 5,550 ha | 26,300 ha |
| 2008 | 15,500 ha | 3,550 ha | 19,100 ha |
| 2009 | 15,100 ha | 2,500 ha | 17,600 ha |
| 2010 | 19,600 ha | 3,030 ha | 22,600 ha |
| 2011 | 13,700 ha | 3,600 ha | 17,300 ha |
| 2012 | 13,100 ha | 4,840 ha | 17,900 ha |
| 2013 | 8,750 ha | 4,780 ha | 13,500 ha |
| 2014 | 10,100 ha | 5,010 ha | 15,100 ha |
| 2015 | 9,510 ha | 6,020 ha | 15,500 ha |
| 2016 | 12,200 ha | 6,850 ha | 19,000 ha |
| 2017 | 15,200 ha | 6,860 ha | 22,000 ha |
| 2018 | 11,500 ha | 4,400 ha | 15,900 ha |
| 2019 | 11,500 ha | 4,380 ha | 15,900 ha |
| 2020 | 13,100 ha | 5,910 ha | 19,000 ha |
| 2021 | 6,160 ha | 1,330 ha | 7,490 ha |
| 2022 | 4,960 ha | 1,680 ha | 6,640 ha |
| 2023 | 8,180 ha | 2,980 ha | 11,200 ha |
| 2024 | 9,790 ha | 4,300 ha | 14,100 ha |
| 2025 | 6,870 ha | 3,530 ha | 10,400 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 9,950 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 18,400 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2007, when about 26,300 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Kenya?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good74% · 302,000 ha
- Loggingcan grow back22% · 90,200 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good1.2% · 5,030 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, shifting farming, wildfires, mining and energy, unknown causes.
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
Kenya as a whole
6.6% of Kenya was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. Closing that gap nationally would take roughly 13.6B trees across 13.6M hectares. Source: World Bank (FAO).
Browse by region
- Garissa CountyGarissa
- Kajiado County3 cities
- Kakamega County2 cities
- Kiambu County5 cities
- Kilifi CountyMalindi
- Kisii CountyKisii
- Kisumu CountyKisumu
- Kwale CountyMatuga
- Machakos County2 cities
- Mandera CountyMandera
- Mombasa County2 cities
- Nairobi County2 cities
- Nakuru County2 cities
- Trans NzoiaKitale
- Uasin Gishu CountyEldoret
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Frequently asked
Air quality in Kenya: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Kenya today?
Right now the 26 cities Airleaf measures in Kenya average AQI 40 (good). The worst air is in Kikuyu, at AQI 33, and the cleanest in Karuri, at AQI 28. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 30 across 8 cities. 4% of the 26 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 81% have Good air.
Which city in Kenya has the worst air right now?
Kikuyu, at AQI 33 (Good) on the US EPA index. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which city in Kenya has the cleanest air right now?
Karuri, at AQI 28 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Kenya has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Kenya safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 21 cities are Good, 4 cities are Moderate, 1 city is Unhealthy. At the national average of AQI 40: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has Kenya lost since 2001?
About 410,000 ha from 2001 to 2025, 12% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 308,000 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which city in Kenya has the most trees?
Kitale, with 53.9% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Kenya?
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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