City report · Enugu State, Nigeria
Enugu Air quality today
Air quality in Enugu currently reads AQI 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 103
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 38.9
- tree cover
- 12.8%
- trees in this area
- 40.2K
- more trees needed
- 69.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Achara, Enugu South, Enugu, Nigeria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 5, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Enugu · AQI 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Enugu's tree count comes to 40,212 trees across 12.57 km², 22 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 69,743 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Enugu today: AQI 103, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 205 km, e.g. Nsukka and Port Harcourt
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
38.9
PM10
26.3
NO₂
1.5
O₃
92.0
SO₂
1.3
CO
463.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Enugu's daily AQI at 95 on average, from 83 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 173 on Nov 7.
Where Enugu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Enugu: Critically low
12.8% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
40,212
Target trees
109,955
More trees needed
69,743
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,534 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Enugu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Enugu has lost about 239 hectares of forest (about 340 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 239 haabout 340 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 19%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 237 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2024, when about 55 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 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2009 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2010 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2012 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2018 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2020 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2021 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2022 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2023 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2024 | 55 ha | under 1 ha | 55 ha |
| 2025 | 40 ha | under 1 ha | 41 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Enugu?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good69% · 164 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good30% · 71 ha
Also: mining and energy, 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
- 10,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,940 ha
- Overall change
- −795 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Enugu shrank from about 10,700 hectares to 9,940 hectares, a net loss of about 795 hectares (−7.4%). New forest grew on about 276 hectares, but 1,070 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 Enugu
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
Build your own
Compare Enugu with anywhere
This place
Enugu
Use this data
Put Enugu's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Enugu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Enugu right now?
The latest reading for Enugu shows an AQI of 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Enugu today?
At AQI 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Enugu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Enugu's daily AQI at 95 on average, from 83 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 173 on Nov 7. On 3 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Enugu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Enugu has lost about 239 hectares of forest (about 340 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Enugu shrank from about 10,700 hectares to 9,940 hectares, a net loss of about 795 hectares (−7.4%). New forest grew on about 276 hectares, but 1,070 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Enugu?
Enugu has an estimated 40,212 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 12.8% tree cover, 22 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Enugu need?
Enugu needs roughly 69,743 more trees to close a 22-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 1,534 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Enugu's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Achara; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address