City report · Kiambu County, Kenya
Kiambu Air quality today
Air quality in Kiambu currently reads AQI 97 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 97
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 33.8
- tree cover
- 41.7%
- trees in this area
- 131K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kiambu, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 4, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kiambu · AQI 97 (Moderate)
Kiambu's tree count comes to 130,873 trees across 12.56 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kiambu today: AQI 97, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Kitisuru, 10.5 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
33.8
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, The Demography Project
- 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 Kiambu's daily AQI at 46 on average, from 41 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 65 on Nov 4.
Where Kiambu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kiambu: Healthy tree cover
41.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
130,873
Target trees
130,873
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kiambu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kiambu has lost about 525 hectares of forest (about 740 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) 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
- 525 haabout 740 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 12%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 476 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 88 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 | 82 ha | 6 ha | 88 ha |
| 2002 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2004 | 14 ha | 2 ha | 16 ha |
| 2005 | 11 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2006 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2007 | 55 ha | 4 ha | 59 ha |
| 2008 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | 14 ha | 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2011 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2012 | 16 ha | 2 ha | 18 ha |
| 2013 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 11 ha |
| 2014 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2015 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2016 | 17 ha | 4 ha | 20 ha |
| 2017 | 15 ha | 4 ha | 20 ha |
| 2018 | 17 ha | 10 ha | 26 ha |
| 2019 | 69 ha | 3 ha | 72 ha |
| 2020 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2021 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2022 | 7 ha | 4 ha | 12 ha |
| 2023 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2024 | 33 ha | 3 ha | 36 ha |
| 2025 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kiambu?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good66% · 349 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good24% · 127 ha
- Loggingcan grow back7.8% · 41 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
- 17,000 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 15,800 ha
- Overall change
- −1,190 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kiambu shrank from about 17,000 hectares to 15,800 hectares, a net loss of about 1,190 hectares (−7%). New forest grew on about 167 hectares, but 1,350 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 Kiambu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kiambu right now?
The latest reading for Kiambu shows an AQI of 97 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Kitisuru, 10.5 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kiambu today?
At AQI 97 (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 Kiambu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kiambu'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 Kiambu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kiambu has lost about 525 hectares of forest (about 740 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kiambu shrank from about 17,000 hectares to 15,800 hectares, a net loss of about 1,190 hectares (−7%). New forest grew on about 167 hectares, but 1,350 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kiambu?
Kiambu has an estimated 130,873 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 41.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kiambu need?
Kiambu has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kiambu's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kiambu, 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 Kiambu; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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