City report · Kenya
Kisumu Air quality today
Air quality in Kisumu currently reads AQI 96 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 96
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 35.4
- tree cover
- 22.9%
- trees in this area
- 68.1K
- more trees needed
- 21.1K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kisumu, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kisumu · AQI 96 (Moderate)
Kisumu's tree count comes to 68,058 trees across 11.89 km² of land, 7 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 21,101 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kisumu today: AQI 96, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 20:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 5 station cities within 250 km, e.g. Mukono and Limuru Town.
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
35.4
PM10
20.4
NO₂
6.2
O₃
74.0
SO₂
2.2
CO
438.0
- 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 Kisumu's daily AQI at 75 on average, from 64 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 126 on Nov 5.
Where Kisumu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kisumu: Below target
22.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.89 km² of land.
Trees in this area
68,058
Target trees
89,159
More trees needed
21,101
CO₂ if planted / yr
464.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kisumu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kisumu has lost about 476 hectares of forest (about 670 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 4 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 476 haabout 670 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 12%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 334 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2010, when about 85 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 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2002 | 6 ha | 25 ha | 31 ha |
| 2003 | 6 ha | 5 ha | 11 ha |
| 2004 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2005 | 58 ha | 19 ha | 77 ha |
| 2006 | 9 ha | 7 ha | 17 ha |
| 2007 | 23 ha | 3 ha | 26 ha |
| 2008 | 7 ha | 4 ha | 11 ha |
| 2009 | 36 ha | 17 ha | 53 ha |
| 2010 | 47 ha | 38 ha | 85 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 8 ha | 11 ha | 19 ha |
| 2013 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2015 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2016 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2017 | 8 ha | 3 ha | 11 ha |
| 2018 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2021 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2023 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2024 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2025 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kisumu?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good61% · 292 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back29% · 139 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.8% · 42 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
- 3,040 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,570 ha
- Overall change
- −474 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kisumu shrank from about 3,040 hectares to 2,570 hectares, a net loss of about 474 hectares (−16%). New forest grew on about 74 hectares, but 548 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 Kisumu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kisumu right now?
The latest reading for Kisumu shows an AQI of 96 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 20:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kisumu 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 Kisumu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kisumu's daily AQI at 75 on average, from 64 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 126 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 Kisumu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kisumu has lost about 476 hectares of forest (about 670 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kisumu shrank from about 3,040 hectares to 2,570 hectares, a net loss of about 474 hectares (−16%). New forest grew on about 74 hectares, but 548 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kisumu?
Kisumu has an estimated 68,058 trees across the 11.89 km² of land measured — 22.9% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kisumu need?
Kisumu needs roughly 21,101 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 464.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Kisumu'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 Kisumu; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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