City report · Tanzania
Dar es Salaam Air quality today
Air quality in Dar es Salaam currently reads AQI 56 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 56
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.8
- tree cover
- 7.7%
- trees in this area
- 24.2K
- more trees needed
- 70.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 6, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Dar es Salaam · AQI 56 (Moderate)
Dar es Salaam's tree count comes to 24,166 trees across 12.56 km² of land, 22 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 69,987 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Dar es Salaam today: AQI 56, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Morroco, Dar es Salaam, 5.1 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.8
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Pumzi Salama
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Dar es Salaam's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 46 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 62 on Nov 9.
Where Dar es Salaam stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Dar es Salaam: Critically low
7.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
24,166
Target trees
94,153
More trees needed
69,987
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,540 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Dar es Salaam lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Dar es Salaam has lost about 262 hectares of forest (about 370 football pitches): 25% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 262 haabout 370 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 25%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 260 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2006, when about 56 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2004 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2006 | 56 ha | under 1 ha | 56 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2009 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2010 | 35 ha | under 1 ha | 35 ha |
| 2011 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2021 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Dar es Salaam?
- Towns and roadscleared for good97% · 255 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.1% · 5 ha
Also: unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 725 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 650 ha
- Overall change
- −75 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Dar es Salaam shrank from about 725 hectares to 650 hectares, a net loss of about 75 hectares (−10%). New forest grew on about 35 hectares, but 110 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
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. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Dar es Salaam
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Morogoro177.6 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 39
- Tanga196.0 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 47
- Handeni207.6 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 43
- Matuga297.2 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 53
Also compared:Dar es Salaam vs DodomaDar es Salaam vs MwanzaDar es Salaam vs Arusha
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Frequently asked
Questions about Dar es Salaam
What is the air quality (AQI) in Dar es Salaam right now?
The latest reading for Dar es Salaam shows an AQI of 56 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by the Morroco, Dar es Salaam ground monitoring station, 5.1 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Dar es Salaam today?
At AQI 56 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Dar es Salaam been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Dar es Salaam's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 46 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 62 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Dar es Salaam lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Dar es Salaam has lost about 262 hectares of forest (about 370 football pitches): 25% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Dar es Salaam shrank from about 725 hectares to 650 hectares, a net loss of about 75 hectares (−10%). New forest grew on about 35 hectares, but 110 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Dar es Salaam?
Dar es Salaam has an estimated 24,166 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 7.7% tree cover, 22 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Dar es Salaam need?
Dar es Salaam needs roughly 69,987 more trees to close a 22-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,540 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Dar es Salaam's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Dar es Salaam, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Dar es Salaam; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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