Abuja
2 km around Central Business Dis
Air quality now
AQI 83
26.5%
tree cover
11.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Africa · air quality report · 99 cities
Nigeria air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 99 cities Airleaf measures in Nigeria average AQI 94 (moderate). The worst air is in Lekki, at AQI 126, and the cleanest in Irewe, at AQI 65.
At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 102 across 14 cities. 29% of the 99 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups.
Average right now
AQI 94
Moderate
US EPA index, across 99 cities
- cities measured
- 99
- worst air: Lekki
- 126
- cleanest air: Irewe
- 65
- average tree cover
- 19.4%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Nigeria · average AQI 94
Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in Nigeria
Moderate
Lagos
2 km around Lagos Island
Air quality now
AQI 118
0.3%
tree cover
62.6K more trees would reach 35% tree cover
Kano
2 km around Kano City
Air quality now
AQI 65
1.7%
tree cover
88.8K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Ibadan
2 km around Ibadan
Air quality now
AQI 94
2.2%
tree cover
87.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Port Harcourt
2 km around Port Harcourt
Air quality now
AQI 120
12.6%
tree cover
59.1K more trees would reach 35% tree cover
Kaduna
2 km around Sabon Gari
Air quality now
AQI 106
15.5%
tree cover
61.3K more trees would reach 35% tree cover
Benin City
2 km around Avbiama
Air quality now
AQI 73
5.8%
tree cover
76.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Onitsha
2 km around Odoakpu
Air quality now
AQI 121
2.3%
tree cover
96.3K more trees would reach 35% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Nigeria today?
29% of the 99 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
99 measured cities
- Moderate70 (71%)
- Unhealthy for sensitive groups25 (25%)
- Unhealthy3 (3%)
- Hazardous1 (1%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
In aggregate
Nigeria 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 99 of 99 cities measured so far in Nigeria.
- Average air quality
- AQI 94Mean of the latest reading per city
- Average tree cover
- 19.4%81 of 99 below their target
- Trees counted
- 5.8MAcross every measured area
- More trees needed
- 5.0MTo bring each area to its target
Worst air quality right now
Cleanest air right now
Greenest cities in Nigeria
Least tree cover in Nigeria
Excludes barren and desert sites
Against everywhere else
How does Nigeria compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Nigeria average cleaner air than 5% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 40%.
Cleaner air than…
- Nigeria
- Beats 5%
More tree cover than…
- Nigeria
- Beats 40%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Nigeria lost?
Since 2001, Nigeria has lost about 1.56 million hectares of forest (about 16,000 km²): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (92%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1.56 million haabout 16,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 16%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1.44 million 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 | 41,000 ha | 2,470 ha | 43,500 ha |
| 2002 | 30,100 ha | 2,380 ha | 32,500 ha |
| 2003 | 12,400 ha | 1,080 ha | 13,400 ha |
| 2004 | 13,200 ha | 1,590 ha | 14,800 ha |
| 2005 | 12,300 ha | 1,050 ha | 13,300 ha |
| 2006 | 24,800 ha | 1,440 ha | 26,200 ha |
| 2007 | 23,500 ha | 1,170 ha | 24,700 ha |
| 2008 | 26,300 ha | 1,200 ha | 27,500 ha |
| 2009 | 24,000 ha | 1,330 ha | 25,400 ha |
| 2010 | 31,200 ha | 1,650 ha | 32,900 ha |
| 2011 | 52,200 ha | 1,840 ha | 54,100 ha |
| 2012 | 34,100 ha | 1,070 ha | 35,100 ha |
| 2013 | 39,800 ha | 3,760 ha | 43,600 ha |
| 2014 | 62,800 ha | 6,140 ha | 68,900 ha |
| 2015 | 38,400 ha | 2,750 ha | 41,100 ha |
| 2016 | 67,700 ha | 4,740 ha | 72,400 ha |
| 2017 | 158,000 ha | 13,400 ha | 172,000 ha |
| 2018 | 110,000 ha | 10,300 ha | 120,000 ha |
| 2019 | 80,500 ha | 6,690 ha | 87,200 ha |
| 2020 | 91,600 ha | 7,940 ha | 99,500 ha |
| 2021 | 89,400 ha | 8,080 ha | 97,500 ha |
| 2022 | 98,600 ha | 7,980 ha | 107,000 ha |
| 2023 | 76,600 ha | 8,830 ha | 85,500 ha |
| 2024 | 98,600 ha | 7,410 ha | 106,000 ha |
| 2025 | 104,000 ha | 14,200 ha | 118,000 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 103,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 110,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 172,000 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Nigeria?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good87% · 1.36 million ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back5.7% · 89,400 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good4.8% · 75,500 ha
Also: logging, mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, 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
Nigeria as a whole
18.9% of Nigeria was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. Closing that gap nationally would take roughly 10.1B trees across 10.1M hectares. Source: World Bank (FAO).
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Frequently asked
Air quality in Nigeria: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Nigeria today?
Right now the 99 cities Airleaf measures in Nigeria average AQI 94 (moderate). The worst air is in Lekki, at AQI 126, and the cleanest in Irewe, at AQI 65. At ground stations alone, which measure rather than estimate, the average is AQI 102 across 14 cities. 29% of the 99 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups.
Which city in Nigeria has the worst air right now?
Lekki, at AQI 126 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) on the US EPA index. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which city in Nigeria has the cleanest air right now?
Irewe, at AQI 65 (Moderate). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Nigeria has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Nigeria safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 70 cities are Moderate, 25 cities are Unhealthy for sensitive groups, 3 cities are Unhealthy, 1 city is Hazardous. At the national average of AQI 94: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
How much forest has Nigeria lost since 2001?
About 1.56 million ha from 2001 to 2025, 16% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 1.44 million ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which city in Nigeria has the most trees?
Efon-Alaaye, with 76.1% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Nigeria?
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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