City report · Uganda
Mbarara Air quality today
Air quality in Mbarara currently reads AQI 130 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 130
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 43.7
- tree cover
- 26.2%
- trees in this area
- 82.3K
- more trees needed
- 27.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Mbarara, Uganda (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 8, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Mbarara · AQI 130 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Mbarara's tree count comes to 82,310 trees across 12.57 km², 9 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 27,646 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Mbarara today: AQI 130, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 03:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Kigali and Kajjansi
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
43.7
PM10
27.5
NO₂
9.0
O₃
23.0
SO₂
1.2
CO
597.0
- 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 Mbarara's daily AQI at 82 on average, from 56 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 169 on Nov 8.
Where Mbarara stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Mbarara: Below target
26.2% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
82,310
Target trees
109,956
More trees needed
27,646
CO₂ if planted / yr
608.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Mbarara lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mbarara has lost about 799 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 20% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (71%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 799 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 20%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 568 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2005, when about 72 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 | 52 ha | 3 ha | 55 ha |
| 2002 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2003 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2004 | 17 ha | 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2005 | 68 ha | 5 ha | 72 ha |
| 2006 | 16 ha | 2 ha | 18 ha |
| 2007 | 23 ha | 4 ha | 27 ha |
| 2008 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 10 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2011 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | 24 ha | 7 ha | 31 ha |
| 2013 | 26 ha | 7 ha | 33 ha |
| 2014 | 27 ha | 15 ha | 42 ha |
| 2015 | 14 ha | 14 ha | 27 ha |
| 2016 | 20 ha | 22 ha | 42 ha |
| 2017 | 43 ha | 27 ha | 70 ha |
| 2018 | 33 ha | 23 ha | 56 ha |
| 2019 | 22 ha | 15 ha | 37 ha |
| 2020 | 14 ha | 7 ha | 21 ha |
| 2021 | 19 ha | 14 ha | 33 ha |
| 2022 | 16 ha | 7 ha | 23 ha |
| 2023 | 22 ha | 8 ha | 30 ha |
| 2024 | 49 ha | 21 ha | 69 ha |
| 2025 | 33 ha | 20 ha | 52 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Mbarara?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good64% · 512 ha
- Loggingcan grow back27% · 213 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good7.1% · 57 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
- 1,330 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,430 ha
- Overall change
- +100 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mbarara grew from about 1,330 hectares to 1,430 hectares, a net gain of about 100 hectares (+7.5%). New forest grew on about 314 hectares, while 214 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 Mbarara
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Nyagatare84.9 km
Rwanda
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 60
- Kasese107.8 km
Uganda
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 55
- Masaka124.4 km
Uganda
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 78
- Musanze150.3 km
Rwanda
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 41
- Bukoba152.6 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 64
Also compared:Mbarara vs KampalaMbarara vs NjeruMbarara vs Gulu
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Frequently asked
Questions about Mbarara
What is the air quality (AQI) in Mbarara right now?
The latest reading for Mbarara shows an AQI of 130 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 11, 03:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 245 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 Mbarara today?
At AQI 130 (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 Mbarara been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mbarara's daily AQI at 82 on average, from 56 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 169 on Nov 8. On 2 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Mbarara lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mbarara has lost about 799 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 20% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (71%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mbarara grew from about 1,330 hectares to 1,430 hectares, a net gain of about 100 hectares (+7.5%). New forest grew on about 314 hectares, while 214 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Mbarara?
Mbarara has an estimated 82,310 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 26.2% tree cover, 9 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Mbarara need?
Mbarara needs roughly 27,646 more trees to close a 9-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 608.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Mbarara'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 Mbarara; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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