City report · Imo State, Nigeria
Owerri Air quality today
Air quality in Owerri currently reads AQI 385 (Hazardous): Emergency conditions — avoid outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 385
Hazardous
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 273.3
- tree cover
- 7.0%
- trees in this area
- 22.0K
- more trees needed
- 119K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Owerri, Imo, Nigeria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Feb 5, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Owerri · AQI 385 (Hazardous)
Owerri's tree count comes to 21,991 trees across 12.57 km², 38 points below the 45% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 119,381 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Owerri today: AQI 385, Hazardous
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 23:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 105 km, e.g. Port Harcourt and Okrika
Health signal
Emergency conditions — avoid outdoor activity.
PM2.5
273.3
PM10
120.1
NO₂
21.5
O₃
22.0
SO₂
7.3
CO
1802.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion
- Windows
- Keep them closed and seal gaps
- Mask
- Wear an N95 if you must go out
- Air purifier
- Run one on high
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Owerri's daily AQI at 102 on average, from 97 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 193 on Nov 10.
Where Owerri stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Owerri: Critically low
7.0% tree cover against a 45% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
21,991
Target trees
141,372
More trees needed
119,381
CO₂ if planted / yr
2,626 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Owerri lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Owerri has lost about 1,160 hectares of forest (about 1,600 football pitches): 66% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,160 haabout 1,600 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 66%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,110 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 443 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 | 429 ha | 14 ha | 443 ha |
| 2002 | 105 ha | 18 ha | 123 ha |
| 2003 | 87 ha | 2 ha | 89 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 31 ha |
| 2007 | 29 ha | 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2008 | 45 ha | 2 ha | 46 ha |
| 2009 | 41 ha | 3 ha | 44 ha |
| 2010 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2011 | 40 ha | 3 ha | 43 ha |
| 2012 | 47 ha | under 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2013 | 32 ha | 7 ha | 38 ha |
| 2014 | 47 ha | 2 ha | 49 ha |
| 2015 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2016 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2017 | 25 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2018 | 34 ha | 2 ha | 37 ha |
| 2019 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2020 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2021 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2022 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2023 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Owerri?
- Towns and roadscleared for good63% · 732 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good32% · 373 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back4.8% · 56 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
- 12,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,330 ha
- Overall change
- −3,060 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Owerri shrank from about 12,400 hectares to 9,330 hectares, a net loss of about 3,060 hectares (−25%). New forest grew on about 1,020 hectares, but 4,070 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 Owerri
What is the air quality (AQI) in Owerri right now?
The latest reading for Owerri shows an AQI of 385 (Hazardous), observed Nov 10, 23:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Emergency conditions — avoid outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Owerri today?
At AQI 385 (Hazardous): everyone should avoid all outdoor exertion. Windows: keep them closed and seal gaps. Masks: wear an N95 if you must go out. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Owerri been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Owerri's daily AQI at 102 on average, from 97 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 193 on Nov 10. On 4 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Owerri lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Owerri has lost about 1,160 hectares of forest (about 1,600 football pitches): 66% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Owerri shrank from about 12,400 hectares to 9,330 hectares, a net loss of about 3,060 hectares (−25%). New forest grew on about 1,020 hectares, but 4,070 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Owerri?
Owerri has an estimated 21,991 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 7.0% tree cover, 38 percentage points short of the 45% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Owerri need?
Owerri needs roughly 119,381 more trees to close a 38-point shortfall against its 45% tree-cover target — about 2,626 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Owerri'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 Owerri; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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