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Air quality now: AQI106Unhealthy for sensitive groups, Mbanza Kongo

City report · Zaire, Angola

Mbanza Kongo Air quality today

Air quality in Mbanza Kongo currently reads AQI 106 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

AQI 106

Air quality right now

Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
34.4
tree cover
19.2%
trees in this area
60.3K
more trees needed
49.6K

Measured across a 2 km radius around M'banza-Kongo, Angola (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 8, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Mbanza Kongo · AQI 106 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Oct 8, 2026

Mbanza Kongo's tree count comes to 60,319 trees across 12.57 km², 16 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 49,637 more trees would close the gap.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Mbanza Kongo today: AQI 106, Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 250 km, e.g. Kinshasa and Kinshasa

Health signal

Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

PM2.5

34.4

PM10

8.7

NO₂

2.4

O₃

60.0

SO₂

0.3

CO

178.0

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 Mbanza Kongo's daily AQI at 31 on average, from 21 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 58 on Nov 4.

Last 7 daysavg 31 · peak 58
Nov 4: AQI 22 (peak 58)Nov 5: AQI 25 (peak 33)Nov 6: AQI 26 (peak 33)Nov 7: AQI 21 (peak 31)Nov 8: AQI 32 (peak 52)Nov 9: AQI 35 (peak 53)Nov 10: AQI 54 (peak 56)
Nov 4Nov 10

Where Mbanza Kongo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Mbanza Kongo: Critically low

19.2% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².

16 points below target

Trees in this area

60,319

Target trees

109,956

More trees needed

49,637

CO₂ if planted / yr

1,092 t

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Mbanza Kongo lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mbanza Kongo has lost about 2,320 hectares of forest (about 3,300 football pitches): 8.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 509 hectares (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.

Satellite image of the area around Mbanza Kongo, June 2017

2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
2,320 haabout 3,300 football pitches
Share of its forest
8.2%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
509 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

Forest loss is slowing down: about 80 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 174 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 334 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Mbanza Kongo, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Mbanza Kongo, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.334

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Mbanza Kongo, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
200115 ha16 ha32 ha
20028 ha27 ha35 ha
20036 ha12 ha18 ha
200457 ha60 ha116 ha
20058 ha14 ha22 ha
20066 ha7 ha13 ha
200737 ha46 ha83 ha
200841 ha87 ha128 ha
200986 ha70 ha156 ha
201040 ha25 ha64 ha
20118 ha18 ha26 ha
201210 ha20 ha30 ha
201343 ha119 ha162 ha
201411 ha88 ha98 ha
201514 ha58 ha72 ha
201628 ha306 ha334 ha
201735 ha279 ha314 ha
20188 ha109 ha117 ha
20194 ha54 ha57 ha
20206 ha39 ha46 ha
20219 ha118 ha127 ha
20226 ha81 ha86 ha
202313 ha44 ha56 ha
20246 ha44 ha50 ha
20255 ha77 ha82 ha

What is causing deforestation around Mbanza Kongo?

  • Shifting farmingcan grow back78% · 1,810 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good14% · 321 ha
  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good7.9% · 183 ha

Also: mining and energy, 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
6,730 ha
Forest in 2020
4,680 ha
Overall change
−2,050 haless forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mbanza Kongo shrank from about 6,730 hectares to 4,680 hectares, a net loss of about 2,050 hectares (−31%). New forest grew on about 38 hectares, but 2,090 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

In the same region

Measured cities near Mbanza Kongo

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

  • Matadi

    Democratic Republic of the Congo

    98.0 km
    Tree cover
    4%
    Air quality
    32
  • Mbanza-Ngungu

    Democratic Republic of the Congo

    131.4 km
    Tree cover
    15%
    Air quality
    103
  • Boma

    Democratic Republic of the Congo

    138.9 km
    Tree cover
    17%
    Air quality
    35
  • Inkisi

    Democratic Republic of the Congo

    155.2 km
    Tree cover
    16%
    Air quality
    56
  • Uíge

    Angola

    174.7 km
    Tree cover
    16%
    Air quality
    38
  • Soyo

    Angola

    207.2 km
    Tree cover
    24%
    Air quality
    53

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Mbanza Kongo air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about Mbanza Kongo

What is the air quality (AQI) in Mbanza Kongo right now?

The latest reading for Mbanza Kongo shows an AQI of 106 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Mbanza Kongo today?

At AQI 106 (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 Mbanza Kongo been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mbanza Kongo's daily AQI at 31 on average, from 21 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 58 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 Mbanza Kongo lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mbanza Kongo has lost about 2,320 hectares of forest (about 3,300 football pitches): 8.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 509 hectares (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 80 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 174 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mbanza Kongo shrank from about 6,730 hectares to 4,680 hectares, a net loss of about 2,050 hectares (−31%). New forest grew on about 38 hectares, but 2,090 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Mbanza Kongo?

Mbanza Kongo has an estimated 60,319 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 19.2% tree cover, 16 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Mbanza Kongo need?

Mbanza Kongo needs roughly 49,637 more trees to close a 16-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 1,092 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.

How are Mbanza Kongo'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 M'banza-Kongo; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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