City report · Kiambu County, Kenya
Kikuyu Air quality today
Air quality in Kikuyu currently reads AQI 98 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 98
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 34.4
- tree cover
- 44.7%
- trees in this area
- 140K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kikuyu, Kiambu, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kikuyu · AQI 98 (Moderate)
Kikuyu's tree count comes to 140,429 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 Kikuyu today: AQI 98, 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 · Kihumo Village || Antenna Array, 3.1 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
34.4
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 Kikuyu's daily AQI at 46 on average, from 41 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 65 on Nov 4.
Where Kikuyu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kikuyu: Healthy tree cover
44.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
140,429
Target trees
140,429
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kikuyu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kikuyu has lost about 749 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): 22% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 159 hectares (21%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 749 haabout 1,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 22%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 159 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 21 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 51 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2001, when about 154 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 | 54 ha | 100 ha | 154 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 7 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2006 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | 14 ha | 20 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 9 ha |
| 2010 | 7 ha | 7 ha | 14 ha |
| 2011 | 5 ha | 14 ha | 19 ha |
| 2012 | 4 ha | 7 ha | 11 ha |
| 2013 | 4 ha | 18 ha | 21 ha |
| 2014 | 7 ha | 48 ha | 55 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | 58 ha | 61 ha |
| 2016 | 5 ha | 94 ha | 98 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 59 ha | 60 ha |
| 2018 | 9 ha | 34 ha | 43 ha |
| 2019 | 12 ha | 21 ha | 33 ha |
| 2020 | 9 ha | 11 ha | 20 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | 7 ha | 10 ha |
| 2022 | 5 ha | 3 ha | 7 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | 9 ha | 12 ha |
| 2024 | 7 ha | 16 ha | 23 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 47 ha | 53 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kikuyu?
- Loggingcan grow back78% · 587 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good12% · 88 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good9.5% · 71 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
- 11,200 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 11,500 ha
- Overall change
- +276 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kikuyu grew from about 11,200 hectares to 11,500 hectares, a net gain of about 276 hectares (+2.5%). New forest grew on about 686 hectares, while 409 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 Kikuyu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kikuyu right now?
The latest reading for Kikuyu shows an AQI of 98 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by the Kihumo Village || Antenna Array ground monitoring station, 3.1 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 Kikuyu today?
At AQI 98 (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 Kikuyu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kikuyu'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 Kikuyu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kikuyu has lost about 749 hectares of forest (about 1,000 football pitches): 22% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 159 hectares (21%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 21 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 51 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kikuyu grew from about 11,200 hectares to 11,500 hectares, a net gain of about 276 hectares (+2.5%). New forest grew on about 686 hectares, while 409 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kikuyu?
Kikuyu has an estimated 140,429 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 44.7% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kikuyu need?
Kikuyu has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kikuyu's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kikuyu, 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 Kikuyu; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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