City report · Botswana
Molepolole Air quality today
Air quality in Molepolole currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 55
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 12.1
- tree cover
- 8.4%
- trees in this area
- 26.4K
- more trees needed
- 67.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Molepolole, Botswana (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Molepolole · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Molepolole's tree count comes to 26,363 trees across 12.56 km² of land, 22 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 67,791 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Molepolole today: AQI 55, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 22:00 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
12.1
PM10
12.7
NO₂
4.6
O₃
67.0
SO₂
1.9
CO
161.0
- 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 Molepolole's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 27 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 71 on Nov 7.
Where Molepolole stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Molepolole: Critically low
8.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
26,363
Target trees
94,154
More trees needed
67,791
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,491 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Molepolole lost?
There was almost no forest around Molepolole in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 664 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 666 ha
- Overall change
- +2 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Molepolole stayed about the same size, at about 666 hectares: new forest grew on about 3 hectares, and about 1 hectare 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 Molepolole
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Rustenburg225.0 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 33
- Serowe256.5 km
Botswana
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 52
- Brits267.7 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 52
- Soshanguve288.1 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 3%
- Air quality
- 205
- Carletonville289.4 km
South Africa
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 31
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Frequently asked
Questions about Molepolole
What is the air quality (AQI) in Molepolole right now?
The latest reading for Molepolole shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 22:00 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 Molepolole today?
At AQI 55 (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 Molepolole been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Molepolole's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 27 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 71 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Molepolole lost since 2001?
There was almost no forest around Molepolole in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Molepolole stayed about the same size, at about 666 hectares: new forest grew on about 3 hectares, and about 1 hectare were lost.
What is the tree count in Molepolole?
Molepolole has an estimated 26,363 trees across the 12.56 km² of land measured — 8.4% tree cover, 22 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Molepolole need?
Molepolole needs roughly 67,791 more trees to close a 22-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,491 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Molepolole'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 Molepolole; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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