City report · Machakos County, Kenya
Mwala Air quality today
Air quality in Mwala currently reads AQI 61 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 61
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 12.7
- tree cover
- 8.4%
- trees in this area
- 26.4K
- more trees needed
- 67.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Mwala, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Mwala · AQI 61 (Moderate)
Mwala's tree count comes to 26,389 trees across 12.57 km², 22 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 67,858 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Mwala today: AQI 61, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 85 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 5 station cities within 85 km, e.g. Ruiru and Nairobi
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
12.7
PM10
4.5
NO₂
0.4
O₃
64.0
SO₂
0.3
CO
164.0
- 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 Mwala's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 24 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 4.
Where Mwala stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Mwala: Critically low
8.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
26,389
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
67,858
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,493 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Mwala lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mwala has lost about 34 hectares of forest (about 47 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (89%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 34 haabout 47 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 14%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 30 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 6 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 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2005 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2018 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Mwala?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good89% · 30 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown11% · 4 ha
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
- 1,760 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,700 ha
- Overall change
- −67 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mwala shrank from about 1,760 hectares to 1,700 hectares, a net loss of about 67 hectares (−3.8%). New forest grew on about 38 hectares, but 105 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 Mwala
What is the air quality (AQI) in Mwala right now?
The latest reading for Mwala shows an AQI of 61 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 85 km, 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 Mwala today?
At AQI 61 (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 Mwala been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mwala's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 24 on Nov 9 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 Mwala lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mwala has lost about 34 hectares of forest (about 47 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (89%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mwala shrank from about 1,760 hectares to 1,700 hectares, a net loss of about 67 hectares (−3.8%). New forest grew on about 38 hectares, but 105 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Mwala?
Mwala has an estimated 26,389 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 8.4% tree cover, 22 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Mwala need?
Mwala needs roughly 67,858 more trees to close a 22-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,493 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Mwala'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 Mwala; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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