City report · Zimbabwe
Harare Air quality today
Air quality in Harare currently reads AQI 33 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 33
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.0
- tree cover
- 17.6%
- trees in this area
- 55.3K
- more trees needed
- 39.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Harare South, Harare, Zimbabwe (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Harare · AQI 33 (Good)
Harare's tree count comes to 55,292 trees across 12.57 km², 12 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 38,956 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Harare today: AQI 33, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Greendale North, 8.7 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.0
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Rambler
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Harare's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 20 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 7.
Where Harare stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Harare: Critically low
17.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
55,292
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
38,956
CO₂ if planted / yr
857.0 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Harare lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Harare has lost about 83 hectares of forest (about 120 football pitches): 18% 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 September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 83 haabout 120 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 18%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 82 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2014, when about 8 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 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2008 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2009 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2010 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2011 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2012 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2013 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2014 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2021 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2022 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Harare?
- Towns and roadscleared for good95% · 79 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.9% · 3 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown1.6% · 1 ha
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
- 3,610 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,270 ha
- Overall change
- −336 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Harare shrank from about 3,610 hectares to 3,270 hectares, a net loss of about 336 hectares (−9.3%). New forest grew on about 82 hectares, but 418 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 Harare
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Kadoma132.8 km
Zimbabwe
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 44
- Kwekwe179.0 km
Zimbabwe
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 29
- Chimoio293.6 km
Mozambique
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 25
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Frequently asked
Questions about Harare
What is the air quality (AQI) in Harare right now?
The latest reading for Harare shows an AQI of 33 (Good), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by the Greendale North ground monitoring station, 8.7 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Harare today?
At AQI 33 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Harare been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Harare's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 20 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Harare lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Harare has lost about 83 hectares of forest (about 120 football pitches): 18% 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 Harare shrank from about 3,610 hectares to 3,270 hectares, a net loss of about 336 hectares (−9.3%). New forest grew on about 82 hectares, but 418 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Harare?
Harare has an estimated 55,292 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 17.6% tree cover, 12 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Harare need?
Harare needs roughly 38,956 more trees to close a 12-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 857.0 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Harare's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Harare South, 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 Harare South; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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