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Africa · air quality report · 18 cities

Zambia air quality today The AQI right now, city by city

Right now the 18 cities Airleaf measures in Zambia average AQI 62 (moderate). The worst air is in Kabwe, at AQI 122, and the cleanest in Livingstone, at AQI 19.

6% of the 18 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 22% have Good air.

Average right now

AQI 62

Moderate

US EPA index, across 18 cities
cities measured
18
worst air: Kabwe
122
cleanest air: Livingstone
19
average tree cover
16.1%

Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.

Zambia · average AQI 62

Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in Zambia

Lusaka

2 km around Thorn Park

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 90

13.3%
tree cover

52.5K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 17, 2026

Kitwe

2 km around Parklands

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 52

16.8%
tree cover

41.5K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 18, 2026

Ndola

2 km around Northrise

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 58

22.8%
tree cover

22.6K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 17, 2026

Chipata

2 km around Chipata

Good

Air quality now

AQI 29

19.9%
tree cover

31.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 12, 2026

Solwezi

2 km around Solwezi

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 59

9.5%
tree cover

64.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 18, 2026

Kabwe

2 km around Railway

Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Air quality now

AQI 122

11.8%
tree cover

72.9K more trees would reach 35% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 25, 2026

Chingola

2 km around Kabundi North

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 52

17.2%
tree cover

40.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 23, 2026

Luanshya

2 km around Luanshya

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 59

18.0%
tree cover

37.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 25, 2026

Across the country

How clean is the air across Zambia today?

6% of the 18 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 22% have Good air. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

18 measured cities

  • Good4 (22%)
  • Moderate13 (72%)
  • Unhealthy for sensitive groups1 (6%)

Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.

In aggregate

Zambia 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 18 of 18 cities measured so far in Zambia.

Average air quality
AQI 62Mean of the latest reading per city
Average tree cover
16.1%18 of 18 below their target
Trees counted
910KAcross every measured area
More trees needed
802KTo bring each area to its target

Worst air quality right now

  1. 1Kabwe14h ago122
  2. 2Mazabuka5h ago95
  3. 3Kafue5h ago93
  4. 4Lusaka36m ago90
  5. 5Chunga36m ago90
  6. 6Mongu23h ago65
  7. 7Solwezi6h ago59
  8. 8Luanshya3h ago59
  9. 9Ndola7h ago58
  10. 10Kalulushi20h ago54

Cleanest air right now

  1. 1Livingstone5h ago19
  2. 2Chipata18h ago29
  3. 3Kasama23h ago36
  4. 4Mufulira20h ago47
  5. 5Chililabombwe1d ago52
  6. 6Chingola20h ago52
  7. 7Kitwe20h ago52
  8. 8Mansa1d ago53
  9. 9Kalulushi20h ago54
  10. 10Ndola7h ago58

Greenest cities in Zambia

  1. 1Kalulushi25.5%
  2. 2Livingstone24.9%
  3. 3Ndola22.8%
  4. 4Mongu21.1%
  5. 5Mufulira20.1%
  6. 6Chipata19.9%
  7. 7Luanshya18.0%
  8. 8Chingola17.2%
  9. 9Kitwe16.8%
  10. 10Kafue14.7%

Least tree cover in Zambia

Excludes barren and desert sites

  1. 1Kasama8.5%
  2. 2Chililabombwe8.6%
  3. 3Solwezi9.5%
  4. 4Chunga11.1%
  5. 5Kabwe11.8%
  6. 6Mazabuka12.5%
  7. 7Mansa13.3%
  8. 8Lusaka13.3%
  9. 9Kafue14.7%
  10. 10Kitwe16.8%

Against everywhere else

How does Zambia compare with other countries?

Right now the cities of Zambia average cleaner air than 21% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 33%.

Cleaner air than…

Zambia
Beats 21%

More tree cover than…

Zambia
Beats 33%

See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Zambia lost?

Since 2001, Zambia has lost about 2.95 million hectares of forest (about 30,000 km²): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (74%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.

Forest lost since 2001
2.95 million haabout 30,000 km²
Share of its forest
12%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
2.19 million hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest lost each year in Zambia, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year in Zambia, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.278K

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year in Zambia, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
200124,400 ha5,980 ha30,300 ha
200234,200 ha12,100 ha46,300 ha
200331,700 ha10,300 ha42,100 ha
200422,800 ha5,760 ha28,500 ha
200543,800 ha13,900 ha57,700 ha
200631,700 ha8,860 ha40,600 ha
200738,800 ha15,300 ha54,200 ha
200852,900 ha13,700 ha66,500 ha
200999,500 ha18,600 ha118,000 ha
2010137,000 ha37,400 ha174,000 ha
201152,600 ha7,440 ha60,100 ha
2012102,000 ha27,400 ha129,000 ha
201354,800 ha30,100 ha85,000 ha
201481,400 ha33,800 ha115,000 ha
201561,500 ha26,200 ha87,600 ha
201695,000 ha46,700 ha142,000 ha
2017117,000 ha45,700 ha163,000 ha
2018102,000 ha41,800 ha144,000 ha
201986,600 ha38,100 ha125,000 ha
2020121,000 ha41,900 ha163,000 ha
2021158,000 ha44,000 ha202,000 ha
2022135,000 ha44,500 ha179,000 ha
2023144,000 ha46,600 ha191,000 ha
2024171,000 ha58,800 ha230,000 ha
2025189,000 ha89,200 ha278,000 ha

Forest loss is speeding up: about 216,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 147,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2025, when about 278,000 hectares of forest were lost.

What is causing deforestation in Zambia?

  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good73% · 2.16 million ha
  • Shifting farmingcan grow back22% · 652,000 ha
  • Loggingcan grow back1.4% · 41,400 ha

Also: wildfires, mining and energy, towns and roads, storms, floods and other natural causes, unknown causes.

Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.

Zambia's full deforestation report

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

Zambia as a whole

60.5% of Zambia 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).

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Every city we track in Zambia

18 cities, A–Z

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Frequently asked

Air quality in Zambia: your questions answered

What is the air quality in Zambia today?

Right now the 18 cities Airleaf measures in Zambia average AQI 62 (moderate). The worst air is in Kabwe, at AQI 122, and the cleanest in Livingstone, at AQI 19. 6% of the 18 measured cities are over AQI 100 today, where the air stops being fine for sensitive groups, and 22% have Good air.

Which city in Zambia has the worst air right now?

Kabwe, at AQI 122 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups) on the US EPA index. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

Which city in Zambia has the cleanest air right now?

Livingstone, at AQI 19 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Zambia has at least three cities with one.

Is the air in Zambia safe to breathe today?

It depends on the city. 4 cities are Good, 13 cities are Moderate, 1 city is Unhealthy for sensitive groups. At the national average of AQI 62: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

How much forest has Zambia lost since 2001?

About 2.95 million 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. 2.19 million ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.

Which city in Zambia has the most trees?

Kalulushi, with 25.5% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.

How does Airleaf measure air quality in Zambia?

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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