City report · Kakamega County, Kenya
Kakamega Air quality today
Air quality in Kakamega currently reads AQI 47 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 47
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 7.1
- tree cover
- 53.4%
- trees in this area
- 168K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kakamega, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kakamega · AQI 47 (Good)
Kakamega's tree count comes to 167,761 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kakamega today: AQI 47, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Mukono and Kampala
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
7.1
PM10
6.7
NO₂
0.6
O₃
76.0
SO₂
1.2
CO
187.0
- 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 Kakamega's daily AQI at 73 on average, from 62 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 133 on Nov 5.
Where Kakamega stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kakamega: Healthy tree cover
53.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
167,761
Target trees
167,761
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kakamega lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kakamega has lost about 483 hectares of forest (about 680 football pitches): 9.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (72%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 483 haabout 680 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 9.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 348 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2018, when about 82 hectares of forest were lost.
Kakamega's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 23 ha | 7 ha | 30 ha |
| 2002 | 13 ha | 8 ha | 20 ha |
| 2003 | 18 ha | 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2004 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2006 | 13 ha | 4 ha | 17 ha |
| 2007 | 43 ha | 3 ha | 46 ha |
| 2008 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2009 | 21 ha | 3 ha | 24 ha |
| 2010 | 31 ha | 5 ha | 36 ha |
| 2011 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2012 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2013 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2015 | 9 ha | 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2016 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2017 | 10 ha | 22 ha | 32 ha |
| 2018 | 33 ha | 49 ha | 82 ha |
| 2019 | 11 ha | 6 ha | 17 ha |
| 2020 | 10 ha | 5 ha | 15 ha |
| 2021 | 9 ha | 3 ha | 12 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | 12 ha | 21 ha |
| 2023 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2024 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2025 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kakamega?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good62% · 298 ha
- Loggingcan grow back27% · 129 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good10% · 51 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
- 8,110 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,280 ha
- Overall change
- +175 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kakamega grew from about 8,110 hectares to 8,280 hectares, a net gain of about 175 hectares (+2.2%). New forest grew on about 503 hectares, while 328 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 Kakamega
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Khwisero21.6 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 64%
- Air quality
- 121
- Kisumu43.0 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 90
- Kitale86.1 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 54%
- Air quality
- 43
- Kisii107.4 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 48%
- Air quality
- 80
- Mbale109.5 km
Uganda
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 128
Also compared:Kakamega vs NairobiKakamega vs MombasaKakamega vs Nakuru
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kakamega
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kakamega right now?
The latest reading for Kakamega shows an AQI of 47 (Good), observed Nov 10, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kakamega today?
At AQI 47 (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 Kakamega been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kakamega's daily AQI at 73 on average, from 62 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 133 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Kakamega lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kakamega has lost about 483 hectares of forest (about 680 football pitches): 9.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (72%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kakamega grew from about 8,110 hectares to 8,280 hectares, a net gain of about 175 hectares (+2.2%). New forest grew on about 503 hectares, while 328 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kakamega?
Kakamega has an estimated 167,761 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 53.4% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kakamega need?
Kakamega has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kakamega'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 Kakamega; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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