City report · Kiambu County, Kenya
Karuri Air quality today
Air quality in Karuri currently reads AQI 96 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 96
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 33.3
- tree cover
- 49.7%
- trees in this area
- 156K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Banana Hill, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Karuri · AQI 96 (Moderate)
Karuri's tree count comes to 156,137 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 Karuri today: AQI 96, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 20:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Kitisuru, 5.4 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
33.3
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient
- 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 Karuri's daily AQI at 46 on average, from 41 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 65 on Nov 4.
Where Karuri stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Karuri: Healthy tree cover
49.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
156,137
Target trees
156,137
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Karuri lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Karuri has lost about 1,300 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 17% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) 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
- 1,300 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 17%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 993 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 36 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 93 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2001, when about 287 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 | 236 ha | 51 ha | 287 ha |
| 2002 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 10 ha |
| 2003 | 18 ha | 4 ha | 21 ha |
| 2004 | 18 ha | 2 ha | 20 ha |
| 2005 | 10 ha | 5 ha | 14 ha |
| 2006 | 16 ha | 6 ha | 22 ha |
| 2007 | 64 ha | 20 ha | 84 ha |
| 2008 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2009 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2010 | 25 ha | 8 ha | 33 ha |
| 2011 | 16 ha | 2 ha | 18 ha |
| 2012 | 31 ha | 10 ha | 41 ha |
| 2013 | 19 ha | 6 ha | 25 ha |
| 2014 | 28 ha | 10 ha | 37 ha |
| 2015 | 18 ha | 9 ha | 27 ha |
| 2016 | 38 ha | 13 ha | 51 ha |
| 2017 | 16 ha | 11 ha | 27 ha |
| 2018 | 48 ha | 23 ha | 71 ha |
| 2019 | 168 ha | 41 ha | 209 ha |
| 2020 | 69 ha | 38 ha | 107 ha |
| 2021 | 16 ha | 7 ha | 24 ha |
| 2022 | 17 ha | 7 ha | 24 ha |
| 2023 | 14 ha | 4 ha | 18 ha |
| 2024 | 84 ha | 18 ha | 102 ha |
| 2025 | 8 ha | 6 ha | 14 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Karuri?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good64% · 833 ha
- Loggingcan grow back23% · 304 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good12% · 160 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
- 18,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 17,700 ha
- Overall change
- −699 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Karuri shrank from about 18,400 hectares to 17,700 hectares, a net loss of about 699 hectares (−3.8%). New forest grew on about 253 hectares, but 951 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 Karuri
What is the air quality (AQI) in Karuri right now?
The latest reading for Karuri shows an AQI of 96 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 20:00 local time by the Kitisuru ground monitoring station, 5.4 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Karuri today?
At AQI 96 (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 Karuri been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Karuri's daily AQI at 46 on average, from 41 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 65 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Karuri lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Karuri has lost about 1,300 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 17% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 36 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 93 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Karuri shrank from about 18,400 hectares to 17,700 hectares, a net loss of about 699 hectares (−3.8%). New forest grew on about 253 hectares, but 951 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Karuri?
Karuri has an estimated 156,137 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 49.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Karuri need?
Karuri has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Karuri's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Banana 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 Banana Hill; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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