City report · Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Ikot Ekpene Air quality today
Air quality in Ikot Ekpene currently reads AQI 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 117
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 42.8
- tree cover
- 20.0%
- trees in this area
- 62.8K
- more trees needed
- 47.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Jan 8, 2025. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Ikot Ekpene · AQI 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Ikot Ekpene's tree count comes to 62,832 trees across 12.57 km², 15 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 47,124 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Ikot Ekpene today: AQI 117, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 125 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 125 km, e.g. Okrika and Port Harcourt
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
42.8
PM10
20.8
NO₂
3.0
O₃
63.0
SO₂
1.8
CO
371.0
- 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 Ikot Ekpene's daily AQI at 84 on average, from 76 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 159 on Nov 9.
Where Ikot Ekpene stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Ikot Ekpene: Critically low
20.0% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
62,832
Target trees
109,956
More trees needed
47,124
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,037 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Ikot Ekpene lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Ikot Ekpene has lost about 354 hectares of forest (about 500 football pitches): 26% 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 in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 354 haabout 500 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 26%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 349 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 158 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 | 154 ha | 4 ha | 158 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2007 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2008 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2009 | 35 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2010 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2011 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2012 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2019 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2021 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2022 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2023 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2025 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Ikot Ekpene?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good85% · 301 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good14% · 49 ha
Also: 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
- 21,100 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 22,600 ha
- Overall change
- +1,440 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Ikot Ekpene grew from about 21,100 hectares to 22,600 hectares, a net gain of about 1,440 hectares (+6.8%). New forest grew on about 2,180 hectares, while 735 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Ikot Ekpene
What is the air quality (AQI) in Ikot Ekpene right now?
The latest reading for Ikot Ekpene shows an AQI of 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 125 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 Ikot Ekpene today?
At AQI 117 (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 Ikot Ekpene been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Ikot Ekpene's daily AQI at 84 on average, from 76 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 159 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 Ikot Ekpene lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Ikot Ekpene has lost about 354 hectares of forest (about 500 football pitches): 26% 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 Ikot Ekpene grew from about 21,100 hectares to 22,600 hectares, a net gain of about 1,440 hectares (+6.8%). New forest grew on about 2,180 hectares, while 735 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Ikot Ekpene?
Ikot Ekpene has an estimated 62,832 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 20.0% tree cover, 15 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Ikot Ekpene need?
Ikot Ekpene needs roughly 47,124 more trees to close a 15-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 1,037 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Ikot Ekpene'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 Ikot Ekpene; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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