City report · Kiambu County, Kenya
Limuru Air quality today
Air quality in Limuru currently reads AQI 104 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 104
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 36.6
- tree cover
- 38.0%
- trees in this area
- 119K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Limuru Town., Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Limuru · AQI 104 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Limuru's tree count comes to 119,381 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Limuru today: AQI 104, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 20:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Kihumo Village || Antenna Array, 17.2 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
36.6
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, The Demography Project
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Limuru's daily AQI at 46 on average, from 41 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 65 on Nov 4.
Where Limuru stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Limuru: Healthy tree cover
38.0% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
119,381
Target trees
119,381
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Limuru lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Limuru has lost about 2,170 hectares of forest (about 3,000 football pitches): 25% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 636 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,170 haabout 3,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 25%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 636 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 91 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 119 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2001, when about 482 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 | 170 ha | 312 ha | 482 ha |
| 2002 | 4 ha | 8 ha | 12 ha |
| 2003 | 15 ha | 26 ha | 41 ha |
| 2004 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2005 | 6 ha | 10 ha | 16 ha |
| 2006 | 8 ha | 18 ha | 26 ha |
| 2007 | 29 ha | 38 ha | 67 ha |
| 2008 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2009 | 6 ha | 25 ha | 31 ha |
| 2010 | 11 ha | 63 ha | 74 ha |
| 2011 | 13 ha | 13 ha | 27 ha |
| 2012 | 18 ha | 55 ha | 73 ha |
| 2013 | 12 ha | 41 ha | 53 ha |
| 2014 | 24 ha | 64 ha | 88 ha |
| 2015 | 16 ha | 84 ha | 100 ha |
| 2016 | 19 ha | 87 ha | 106 ha |
| 2017 | 18 ha | 55 ha | 73 ha |
| 2018 | 39 ha | 38 ha | 77 ha |
| 2019 | 76 ha | 91 ha | 167 ha |
| 2020 | 46 ha | 128 ha | 174 ha |
| 2021 | 15 ha | 54 ha | 69 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | 28 ha | 37 ha |
| 2023 | 8 ha | 33 ha | 42 ha |
| 2024 | 53 ha | 225 ha | 278 ha |
| 2025 | 5 ha | 27 ha | 32 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Limuru?
- Loggingcan grow back70% · 1,520 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good29% · 633 ha
Also: shifting farming, towns and roads, 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
- 10,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 11,000 ha
- Overall change
- +245 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Limuru grew from about 10,700 hectares to 11,000 hectares, a net gain of about 245 hectares (+2.3%). New forest grew on about 803 hectares, while 558 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 Limuru
What is the air quality (AQI) in Limuru right now?
The latest reading for Limuru shows an AQI of 104 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 20:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Kihumo Village || Antenna Array, 17.2 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Limuru today?
At AQI 104 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Limuru been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Limuru'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 Limuru lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Limuru has lost about 2,170 hectares of forest (about 3,000 football pitches): 25% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 636 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 91 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 119 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Limuru grew from about 10,700 hectares to 11,000 hectares, a net gain of about 245 hectares (+2.3%). New forest grew on about 803 hectares, while 558 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Limuru?
Limuru has an estimated 119,381 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 38.0% tree cover, already past the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Limuru need?
Limuru has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Limuru's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Limuru Town., 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 Limuru Town.; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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