Freetown
2 km around Tower Hill
Air quality now
AQI 64
6.6%
tree cover
44.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Africa · air quality report · 5 cities
Sierra Leone air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Sierra Leone average AQI 80 (moderate). The worst air is in Bo, at AQI 94, and the cleanest in Freetown, at AQI 64.
None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today.
Average right now
AQI 80
Moderate
US EPA index, across 5 cities
- cities measured
- 5
- worst air: Bo
- 94
- cleanest air: Freetown
- 64
- average tree cover
- 21.6%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Sierra Leone · average AQI 80
Air quality right now in all 5 cities in Sierra Leone
Moderate
Kenema
2 km around Kenema
Air quality now
AQI 82
28.5%
tree cover
4.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Bo
2 km around Bo
Air quality now
AQI 94
22.3%
tree cover
24.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Koidu
2 km around Koidu
Air quality now
AQI 74
37.7%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Makeni
2 km around Makeni
Air quality now
AQI 88
13.1%
tree cover
53.1K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Sierra Leone 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 Sierra Leone compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Sierra Leone average cleaner air than 15% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 44%.
Cleaner air than…
- Sierra Leone
- Beats 15%
More tree cover than…
- Sierra Leone
- Beats 44%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sierra Leone lost?
Since 2001, Sierra Leone has lost about 2.27 million hectares of forest (about 23,000 km²): 41% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 337,000 hectares (15%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2.27 million haabout 23,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 41%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 337,000 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 | 4,550 ha | 13,900 ha | 18,500 ha |
| 2002 | 3,420 ha | 11,800 ha | 15,200 ha |
| 2003 | 2,540 ha | 6,380 ha | 8,920 ha |
| 2004 | 1,110 ha | 2,830 ha | 3,930 ha |
| 2005 | 2,550 ha | 4,250 ha | 6,800 ha |
| 2006 | 7,630 ha | 20,700 ha | 28,300 ha |
| 2007 | 5,680 ha | 15,900 ha | 21,600 ha |
| 2008 | 4,810 ha | 15,800 ha | 20,700 ha |
| 2009 | 7,380 ha | 22,700 ha | 30,100 ha |
| 2010 | 2,150 ha | 6,440 ha | 8,590 ha |
| 2011 | 9,350 ha | 24,400 ha | 33,700 ha |
| 2012 | 4,520 ha | 11,500 ha | 16,000 ha |
| 2013 | 29,900 ha | 140,000 ha | 169,000 ha |
| 2014 | 28,500 ha | 133,000 ha | 161,000 ha |
| 2015 | 33,600 ha | 199,000 ha | 232,000 ha |
| 2016 | 20,900 ha | 157,000 ha | 177,000 ha |
| 2017 | 28,900 ha | 203,000 ha | 232,000 ha |
| 2018 | 23,800 ha | 164,000 ha | 188,000 ha |
| 2019 | 22,300 ha | 153,000 ha | 175,000 ha |
| 2020 | 20,400 ha | 134,000 ha | 154,000 ha |
| 2021 | 14,500 ha | 98,100 ha | 113,000 ha |
| 2022 | 13,400 ha | 106,000 ha | 120,000 ha |
| 2023 | 13,900 ha | 85,100 ha | 99,000 ha |
| 2024 | 17,900 ha | 112,000 ha | 130,000 ha |
| 2025 | 13,900 ha | 90,400 ha | 104,000 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 113,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 185,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2015, when about 232,000 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Sierra Leone?
- Shifting farmingcan grow back85% · 1.93 million ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good14% · 313,000 ha
Also: mining and energy, towns and roads, logging, 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
Sierra Leone as a whole
34.0% of Sierra Leone was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. That already clears the benchmark — the city reports above show where cover is still thin locally. Source: World Bank (FAO).
Build your own
Compare Sierra Leone with another country
This place
Sierra Leone
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Sierra Leone
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 Sierra Leone: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Sierra Leone today?
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Sierra Leone average AQI 80 (moderate). The worst air is in Bo, at AQI 94, and the cleanest in Freetown, at AQI 64. None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today.
Which city in Sierra Leone has the worst air right now?
Bo, at AQI 94 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in Sierra Leone has the cleanest air right now?
Freetown, at AQI 64 (Moderate). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Sierra Leone has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Sierra Leone safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 5 cities are Moderate. At the national average of AQI 80: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
How much forest has Sierra Leone lost since 2001?
About 2.27 million ha from 2001 to 2025, 41% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 337,000 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Sierra Leone?
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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