Windhoek
2 km around Railway Area
Air quality now
AQI 52
10.8%
tree cover
60.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Africa · air quality report · 5 cities
Namibia air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Namibia average AQI 53 (moderate). The worst air is in Rundu, at AQI 61, and the cleanest in Oshakati, at AQI 51.
None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today.
Average right now
AQI 53
Moderate
US EPA index, across 5 cities
- cities measured
- 5
- worst air: Rundu
- 61
- cleanest air: Oshakati
- 51
- average tree cover
- 3.7%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Namibia · average AQI 53
Air quality right now in all 5 cities in Namibia
Moderate
Rundu
2 km around Rundu
Air quality now
AQI 61
3.4%
tree cover
83.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Walvis Bay
2 km around Walvis Bay
Air quality now
AQI 51
0.2%
tree cover
81.5K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Swakopmund
2 km around Vineta
Air quality now
AQI 51
1.4%
tree cover
54.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Oshakati
2 km around Oshakati
Air quality now
AQI 51
2.7%
tree cover
84.8K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Namibia today?
None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
5 measured cities
- Moderate5 (100%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How does Namibia compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Namibia average cleaner air than 47% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 8%.
Cleaner air than…
- Namibia
- Beats 47%
More tree cover than…
- Namibia
- Beats 8%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Namibia lost?
Since 2001, Namibia has lost about 1,260 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 30% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (89%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,260 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 30%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,120 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 | 373 ha | 44 ha | 417 ha |
| 2002 | 97 ha | 13 ha | 110 ha |
| 2003 | 192 ha | 21 ha | 213 ha |
| 2004 | 54 ha | 8 ha | 61 ha |
| 2005 | 55 ha | 9 ha | 64 ha |
| 2006 | 12 ha | 5 ha | 18 ha |
| 2007 | 78 ha | 7 ha | 84 ha |
| 2008 | 27 ha | 9 ha | 35 ha |
| 2009 | 80 ha | 8 ha | 88 ha |
| 2010 | 24 ha | 4 ha | 28 ha |
| 2011 | 75 ha | 2 ha | 77 ha |
| 2012 | 25 ha | 3 ha | 28 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2018 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
The worst year was 2001, when about 417 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Namibia?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good89% · 1,120 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown11% · 133 ha
Also: mining and energy, wildfires, towns and roads, storms, floods and other natural 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
Namibia as a whole
9.8% of Namibia was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. Closing that gap nationally would take roughly 16.7B trees across 16.7M hectares. Source: World Bank (FAO).
Build your own
Compare Namibia with another country
This place
Namibia
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Namibia
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
- The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
Air purifiers that keep up with wildfire smoke and winter smog, ranked by verified smoke CADR, with the room each one clears on a smoky day.
- The best air purifiers under $200
Good HEPA air purifiers under $200 at the makers' own prices, compared on verified clean air, room size and what the filters cost each year.
- NIOSH-approved N95 masks for smoke and smog
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 Namibia: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Namibia today?
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Namibia average AQI 53 (moderate). The worst air is in Rundu, at AQI 61, and the cleanest in Oshakati, at AQI 51. None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today.
Which city in Namibia has the worst air right now?
Rundu, at AQI 61 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in Namibia has the cleanest air right now?
Oshakati, at AQI 51 (Moderate). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Namibia has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Namibia safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 5 cities are Moderate. At the national average of AQI 53: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
How much forest has Namibia lost since 2001?
About 1,260 ha from 2001 to 2025, 30% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 1,120 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Namibia?
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.
More of Africa
AlgeriaAngolaBeninBotswanaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCameroonCentral African RepublicChadComorosDemocratic Republic of the CongoDjiboutiEgyptEquatorial GuineaEritreaEswatiniEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauIvory CoastKenyaLesothoLiberiaLibyaMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMoroccoMozambiqueNigerNigeriaRepublic of the CongoReunionRwandaSaint HelenaSao Tome and PrincipeSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth SudanSudanTanzaniaTogoTunisiaUgandaWestern SaharaZambiaZimbabwe
Your own street