City report · Nakuru County, Kenya
Nakuru Air quality today
Air quality in Nakuru currently reads AQI 76 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 76
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 17.1
- tree cover
- 14.6%
- trees in this area
- 43.6K
- more trees needed
- 46.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Racecourse, Nakuru, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 7, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Nakuru · AQI 76 (Moderate)
Nakuru's tree count comes to 43,620 trees across 11.95 km² of land, 15 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 46,010 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Nakuru today: AQI 76, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 125 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 125 km, e.g. Limuru Town. and Banana Hill
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
17.1
PM10
4.8
NO₂
0.6
O₃
72.0
SO₂
1.0
CO
324.0
- 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 Nakuru's daily AQI at 46 on average, from 39 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 73 on Nov 5.
Where Nakuru stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Nakuru: Critically low
14.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.95 km² of land.
Trees in this area
43,620
Target trees
89,630
More trees needed
46,010
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,012 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Nakuru lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Nakuru has lost about 99 hectares of forest (about 140 football pitches): 4.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 2 hectares (1.6%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 99 haabout 140 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 2 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2015, when about 19 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 16 ha | 17 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 14 ha | 15 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 6 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 19 ha | 19 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 14 ha | 14 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 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 | 12 ha | 12 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Nakuru?
- Loggingcan grow back56% · 55 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back34% · 33 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back5.5% · 6 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 4,310 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,190 ha
- Overall change
- −122 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Nakuru shrank from about 4,310 hectares to 4,190 hectares, a net loss of about 122 hectares (−2.8%). New forest grew on about 207 hectares, but 329 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 Nakuru
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Limuru109.8 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 97
- Karuri123.0 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 50%
- Air quality
- 96
- Kikuyu123.4 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 98
- Kiambu128.2 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 97
Also compared:Nakuru vs NairobiNakuru vs KakamegaNakuru vs Mombasa
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Frequently asked
Questions about Nakuru
What is the air quality (AQI) in Nakuru right now?
The latest reading for Nakuru shows an AQI of 76 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 125 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 Nakuru today?
At AQI 76 (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 Nakuru been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Nakuru's daily AQI at 46 on average, from 39 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 73 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Nakuru lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Nakuru has lost about 99 hectares of forest (about 140 football pitches): 4.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 2 hectares (1.6%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Nakuru shrank from about 4,310 hectares to 4,190 hectares, a net loss of about 122 hectares (−2.8%). New forest grew on about 207 hectares, but 329 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Nakuru?
Nakuru has an estimated 43,620 trees across the 11.95 km² of land measured — 14.6% tree cover, 15 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Nakuru need?
Nakuru needs roughly 46,010 more trees to close a 15-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,012 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Nakuru'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 Racecourse; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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