City report · Rivers State, Nigeria
Port Harcourt Air quality today
Air quality in Port Harcourt currently reads AQI 93 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 93
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 31.4
- tree cover
- 12.6%
- trees in this area
- 33.3K
- more trees needed
- 45.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Port Harcourt, 500101, Rivers, Nigeria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 30, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Port Harcourt · AQI 93 (Moderate)
Port Harcourt's tree count comes to 33,251 trees across 10.56 km² of land, 17 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 45,918 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Port Harcourt today: AQI 93, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Ohaeto Street, Dline Port Harcourt, Rivers State, 2.6 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
31.4
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Media Awareness and Justice Initiative
- 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 Port Harcourt's daily AQI at 76 on average, from 70 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 152 on Nov 4.
Where Port Harcourt stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Port Harcourt: Critically low
12.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.56 km² of land.
Trees in this area
33,251
Target trees
79,169
More trees needed
45,918
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,010 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Port Harcourt lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Port Harcourt has lost about 135 hectares of forest (about 190 football pitches): 1.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2018: satellite photo from January 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 135 haabout 190 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 124 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2014, when about 30 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 | 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2010 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2014 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2025 | 3 ha | 4 ha | 7 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Port Harcourt?
- Towns and roadscleared for good56% · 75 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good18% · 25 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good17% · 24 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, shifting farming, 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
- 2,770 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,240 ha
- Overall change
- −527 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Port Harcourt shrank from about 2,770 hectares to 2,240 hectares, a net loss of about 527 hectares (−19%). New forest grew on about 42 hectares, but 568 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 Port Harcourt
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Buguma17.4 km
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- Air quality
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- Aba53.6 km
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- Air quality
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- Owerri78.6 km
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- Air quality
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- Yenagoa84.3 km
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- Air quality
- 106
- Ikot Ekpene89.8 km
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- Tree cover
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- Air quality
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- Umuahia98.7 km
Nigeria
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 89
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Frequently asked
Questions about Port Harcourt
What is the air quality (AQI) in Port Harcourt right now?
The latest reading for Port Harcourt shows an AQI of 93 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by the Ohaeto Street, Dline Port Harcourt, Rivers State ground monitoring station, 2.6 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Port Harcourt today?
At AQI 93 (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 Port Harcourt been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Port Harcourt's daily AQI at 76 on average, from 70 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 152 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 Port Harcourt lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Port Harcourt has lost about 135 hectares of forest (about 190 football pitches): 1.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Port Harcourt shrank from about 2,770 hectares to 2,240 hectares, a net loss of about 527 hectares (−19%). New forest grew on about 42 hectares, but 568 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Port Harcourt?
Port Harcourt has an estimated 33,251 trees across the 10.56 km² of land measured — 12.6% tree cover, 17 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Port Harcourt need?
Port Harcourt needs roughly 45,918 more trees to close a 17-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,010 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Port Harcourt's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Port Harcourt, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. 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 Port Harcourt; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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