City report · Anambra, Nigeria
Onitsha Air quality today
Air quality in Onitsha currently reads AQI 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 103
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 36.6
- tree cover
- 2.3%
- trees in this area
- 6.8K
- more trees needed
- 96.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Odoakpu, Onitsha, Anambra, Nigeria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Feb 5, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Onitsha · AQI 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Onitsha's tree count comes to 6,770 trees across 11.78 km² of land, 33 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 96,258 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Onitsha today: AQI 103, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 165 km, e.g. Nsukka and Port Harcourt
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
36.6
PM10
20.0
NO₂
2.2
O₃
97.0
SO₂
1.0
CO
255.0
- 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 Onitsha's daily AQI at 86 on average, from 76 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 143 on Nov 7.
Where Onitsha stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Onitsha: Critically low
2.3% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.78 km² of land.
Trees in this area
6,770
Target trees
103,028
More trees needed
96,258
CO₂ if planted / yr
2,118 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Onitsha lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Onitsha has lost about 174 hectares of forest (about 240 football pitches): 7.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (90%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 174 haabout 240 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 7.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 156 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 27 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 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2011 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | 11 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2015 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2016 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2017 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2020 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2021 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2024 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 10 ha | 15 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Onitsha?
- Towns and roadscleared for good57% · 99 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good22% · 38 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good11% · 19 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 5,540 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,150 ha
- Overall change
- −385 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Onitsha shrank from about 5,540 hectares to 5,150 hectares, a net loss of about 385 hectares (−7%). New forest grew on about 244 hectares, but 629 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 Onitsha
What is the air quality (AQI) in Onitsha right now?
The latest reading for Onitsha shows an AQI of 103 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 165 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 Onitsha today?
At AQI 103 (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 Onitsha been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Onitsha's daily AQI at 86 on average, from 76 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 143 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 Onitsha lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Onitsha has lost about 174 hectares of forest (about 240 football pitches): 7.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (90%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Onitsha shrank from about 5,540 hectares to 5,150 hectares, a net loss of about 385 hectares (−7%). New forest grew on about 244 hectares, but 629 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Onitsha?
Onitsha has an estimated 6,770 trees across the 11.78 km² of land measured — 2.3% tree cover, 33 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Onitsha need?
Onitsha needs roughly 96,258 more trees to close a 33-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 2,118 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Onitsha'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 Odoakpu; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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