City report · Mwanza, Tanzania
Mwanza Air quality today
Air quality in Mwanza currently reads AQI 21 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 21
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 3.2
- tree cover
- 23.5%
- trees in this area
- 56.3K
- more trees needed
- 15.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Mwanza, Tanzania (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Mwanza · AQI 21 (Good)
Mwanza's tree count comes to 56,256 trees across 9.58 km² of land, 7 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 15,560 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Mwanza today: AQI 21, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 08:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
3.2
PM10
3.7
NO₂
0.8
O₃
73.0
SO₂
0.2
CO
190.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mwanza's daily AQI at 34 on average, from 20 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 60 on Nov 7.
Where Mwanza stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Mwanza: Below target
23.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.58 km² of land.
Trees in this area
56,256
Target trees
71,816
More trees needed
15,560
CO₂ if planted / yr
342.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Mwanza lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mwanza has lost about 28 hectares of forest (about 39 football pitches): 10% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (86%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 28 haabout 39 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 10%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 24 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 10 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 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 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 Mwanza?
- Towns and roadscleared for good53% · 15 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good34% · 9 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown13% · 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
- 1,070 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,060 ha
- Overall change
- −4 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mwanza stayed about the same size, at about 1,060 hectares: new forest grew on about 67 hectares, and about 71 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 Mwanza
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Sengerema32.4 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 17
- Geita84.0 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 15
- Bunda121.1 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 51
- Bariadi124.4 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 26
- Shinyanga140.1 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 23
- Kahama150.1 km
Tanzania
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 27
Also compared:Mwanza vs DodomaMwanza vs Dar es SalaamMwanza vs ZanzibarMwanza vs Arusha
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Frequently asked
Questions about Mwanza
What is the air quality (AQI) in Mwanza right now?
The latest reading for Mwanza shows an AQI of 21 (Good), observed Nov 11, 08:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Mwanza today?
At AQI 21 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Mwanza been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mwanza's daily AQI at 34 on average, from 20 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 60 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 Mwanza lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mwanza has lost about 28 hectares of forest (about 39 football pitches): 10% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (86%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mwanza stayed about the same size, at about 1,060 hectares: new forest grew on about 67 hectares, and about 71 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Mwanza?
Mwanza has an estimated 56,256 trees across the 9.58 km² of land measured — 23.5% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Mwanza need?
Mwanza needs roughly 15,560 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 342.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Mwanza'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 Mwanza; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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