City report · Sierra Leone
Freetown Air quality today
Air quality in Freetown currently reads AQI 68 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 68
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 18.2
- tree cover
- 6.6%
- trees in this area
- 12.5K
- more trees needed
- 44.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Tower Hill, Freetown, Sierra Leone (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of May 20, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Freetown · AQI 68 (Moderate)
Freetown's tree count comes to 12,524 trees across 7.59 km² of land, 23 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 44,402 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Freetown today: AQI 68, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:04 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Freetown City Council, 400 m away · median of 8 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
18.2
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · Clarity
- 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 Freetown's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 35 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 64 on Nov 9.
Where Freetown stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Freetown: Critically low
6.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 7.59 km² of land.
Trees in this area
12,524
Target trees
56,926
More trees needed
44,402
CO₂ if planted / yr
976.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Freetown lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Freetown has lost about 1,050 hectares of forest (about 1,500 football pitches): 21% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,050 haabout 1,500 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 21%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 995 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 28 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 55 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2009, when about 136 hectares of forest were lost.
Freetown's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2002 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2003 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2004 | 67 ha | under 1 ha | 67 ha |
| 2005 | 52 ha | under 1 ha | 52 ha |
| 2006 | 130 ha | under 1 ha | 130 ha |
| 2007 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2008 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2009 | 136 ha | under 1 ha | 136 ha |
| 2010 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2011 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2013 | 34 ha | 2 ha | 35 ha |
| 2014 | 76 ha | under 1 ha | 77 ha |
| 2015 | 31 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2016 | 57 ha | under 1 ha | 58 ha |
| 2017 | 68 ha | 10 ha | 78 ha |
| 2018 | 66 ha | 5 ha | 71 ha |
| 2019 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2020 | 29 ha | 3 ha | 32 ha |
| 2021 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2022 | 13 ha | 2 ha | 15 ha |
| 2023 | 7 ha | 9 ha | 17 ha |
| 2024 | 19 ha | 12 ha | 31 ha |
| 2025 | 31 ha | 10 ha | 40 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Freetown?
- Towns and roadscleared for good76% · 805 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good12% · 127 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good6% · 63 ha
Also: wildfires, shifting farming, logging, 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
- 6,930 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,880 ha
- Overall change
- −1,050 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Freetown shrank from about 6,930 hectares to 5,880 hectares, a net loss of about 1,050 hectares (−15%). New forest grew on about 38 hectares, but 1,090 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 Freetown
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Conakry126.5 km
Guinea
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 94
- Manéah140.0 km
Guinea
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 78
- Dubréka148.4 km
Guinea
- Tree cover
- 50%
- Air quality
- 82
- Kindia179.2 km
Guinea
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 137
Also compared:Freetown vs Kenema
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Frequently asked
Questions about Freetown
What is the air quality (AQI) in Freetown right now?
The latest reading for Freetown shows an AQI of 68 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:04 local time by 8 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Freetown City Council, 400 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Freetown today?
At AQI 68 (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 Freetown been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Freetown's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 35 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 64 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 Freetown lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Freetown has lost about 1,050 hectares of forest (about 1,500 football pitches): 21% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 28 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 55 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Freetown shrank from about 6,930 hectares to 5,880 hectares, a net loss of about 1,050 hectares (−15%). New forest grew on about 38 hectares, but 1,090 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Freetown?
Freetown has an estimated 12,524 trees across the 7.59 km² of land measured — 6.6% tree cover, 23 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Freetown need?
Freetown needs roughly 44,402 more trees to close a 23-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 976.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Freetown's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Tower Hill, 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 Tower Hill; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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