City report · Kenya
Matuga Air quality today
Air quality in Matuga currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 53
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.3
- tree cover
- 42.1%
- trees in this area
- 132K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kwale, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 29, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Matuga · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Matuga's tree count comes to 132,261 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 Matuga today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.3
PM10
15.5
NO₂
1.4
O₃
100.0
SO₂
4.9
CO
97.0
- 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 Matuga's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 47 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 4.
Where Matuga stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Matuga: Healthy tree cover
42.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
132,261
Target trees
132,261
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Matuga lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Matuga has lost about 1,780 hectares of forest (about 2,500 football pitches): 32% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2018: satellite photo from November 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,780 haabout 2,500 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 32%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,770 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 335 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 | 96 ha | under 1 ha | 96 ha |
| 2002 | 98 ha | 3 ha | 101 ha |
| 2003 | 107 ha | under 1 ha | 107 ha |
| 2004 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2006 | 78 ha | under 1 ha | 78 ha |
| 2007 | 47 ha | under 1 ha | 47 ha |
| 2008 | 331 ha | 4 ha | 335 ha |
| 2009 | 49 ha | under 1 ha | 49 ha |
| 2010 | 113 ha | 1 ha | 114 ha |
| 2011 | 46 ha | under 1 ha | 46 ha |
| 2012 | 177 ha | 5 ha | 182 ha |
| 2013 | 91 ha | under 1 ha | 91 ha |
| 2014 | 261 ha | under 1 ha | 261 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2017 | 53 ha | under 1 ha | 53 ha |
| 2018 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2019 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2020 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2021 | 101 ha | under 1 ha | 101 ha |
| 2022 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2023 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2024 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2025 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Matuga?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good74% · 1,310 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good21% · 379 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good4.4% · 79 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
- 3,370 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,880 ha
- Overall change
- −491 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Matuga shrank from about 3,370 hectares to 2,880 hectares, a net loss of about 491 hectares (−15%). New forest grew on about 98 hectares, but 589 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 Matuga
What is the air quality (AQI) in Matuga right now?
The latest reading for Matuga shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, 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 Matuga today?
At AQI 53 (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 Matuga been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Matuga's daily AQI at 53 on average, from 47 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 61 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 Matuga lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Matuga has lost about 1,780 hectares of forest (about 2,500 football pitches): 32% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Matuga shrank from about 3,370 hectares to 2,880 hectares, a net loss of about 491 hectares (−15%). New forest grew on about 98 hectares, but 589 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Matuga?
Matuga has an estimated 132,261 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 42.1% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Matuga need?
Matuga has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Matuga'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 Kwale; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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