City report · Lualaba, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kolwezi Air quality today
Air quality in Kolwezi currently reads AQI 85 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 85
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 27.1
- tree cover
- 6.4%
- trees in this area
- 19.6K
- more trees needed
- 72.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kolwezi · AQI 85 (Moderate)
Kolwezi's tree count comes to 19,624 trees across 12.27 km² of land, 24 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 72,362 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kolwezi today: AQI 85, 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 · Musonoi - Kolwezi, 2.9 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
27.1
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Source International
- 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 Kolwezi's daily AQI at 57 on average, from 46 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 6.
Where Kolwezi stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kolwezi: Critically low
6.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.27 km² of land.
Trees in this area
19,624
Target trees
91,986
More trees needed
72,362
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,592 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kolwezi lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kolwezi has lost about 751 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 28% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 751 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 28%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 740 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 56 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 58 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 93 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 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 41 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2010 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2011 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2012 | 25 ha | under 1 ha | 25 ha |
| 2013 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2014 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2015 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2016 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2017 | 24 ha | 2 ha | 26 ha |
| 2018 | 58 ha | under 1 ha | 58 ha |
| 2019 | 92 ha | under 1 ha | 93 ha |
| 2020 | 82 ha | 2 ha | 84 ha |
| 2021 | 82 ha | under 1 ha | 82 ha |
| 2022 | 44 ha | under 1 ha | 44 ha |
| 2023 | 49 ha | under 1 ha | 49 ha |
| 2024 | 73 ha | under 1 ha | 74 ha |
| 2025 | 31 ha | 2 ha | 32 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kolwezi?
- Towns and roadscleared for good57% · 428 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good24% · 181 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good17% · 131 ha
Also: shifting farming, 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
- 517 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 249 ha
- Overall change
- −268 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kolwezi shrank from about 517 hectares to 249 hectares, a net loss of about 268 hectares (−52%). New forest grew on about 37 hectares, but 305 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 Kolwezi
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kolwezi right now?
The latest reading for Kolwezi shows an AQI of 85 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 20:00 local time by the Musonoi - Kolwezi ground monitoring station, 2.9 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 Kolwezi today?
At AQI 85 (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 Kolwezi been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kolwezi's daily AQI at 57 on average, from 46 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Kolwezi lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kolwezi has lost about 751 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 28% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 56 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 58 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kolwezi shrank from about 517 hectares to 249 hectares, a net loss of about 268 hectares (−52%). New forest grew on about 37 hectares, but 305 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kolwezi?
Kolwezi has an estimated 19,624 trees across the 12.27 km² of land measured — 6.4% tree cover, 24 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kolwezi need?
Kolwezi needs roughly 72,362 more trees to close a 24-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,592 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Kolwezi's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kolwezi, 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 Kolwezi; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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