Democratic Republic of the Congo · Bas-Congo · 5 cities
Air quality in Bas-Congo today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Matadi has the cleanest air of the 5 cities we track in Bas-Congo (AQI 32, Good), and Mbanza-Ngungu the worst (AQI 103, Unhealthy for sensitive groups). Boma has the most tree cover, at 17.0% — #21 of 35 cities measured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
AQI 56
Average right now
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 11.1%
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: 28.4%
- worst air now: Mbanza-Ngungu
- 103
- cleanest air now: Matadi
- 32
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Bas-Congo · average AQI 56
Air quality today across Bas-Congo, city by city
| Matadi | 32Good | 4.4% | 80.3K | #32 of 35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boma | 35Good | 17.0% | 32.9K | #21 of 35 |
| Mbanza-Ngungu | 103Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 15.1% | 62.5K | #24 of 35 |
| Moanda | 54Moderate | 3.5% | 83.3K | #33 of 35 |
| Inkisi | 56Moderate | 15.6% | 45.0K | #23 of 35 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bas-Congo lost?
Since 2001, Bas-Congo has lost about 723,000 hectares of forest (about 7,200 km²): 21% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 145,000 hectares (20%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 723,000 haabout 7,200 km²
- Share of its forest
- 21%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 145,000 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2,260 ha | 7,920 ha | 10,200 ha |
| 2002 | 2,540 ha | 8,570 ha | 11,100 ha |
| 2003 | 1,470 ha | 5,200 ha | 6,670 ha |
| 2004 | 3,900 ha | 10,700 ha | 14,600 ha |
| 2005 | 1,640 ha | 4,910 ha | 6,550 ha |
| 2006 | 2,190 ha | 5,730 ha | 7,920 ha |
| 2007 | 2,210 ha | 9,020 ha | 11,200 ha |
| 2008 | 2,300 ha | 4,580 ha | 6,890 ha |
| 2009 | 4,910 ha | 8,970 ha | 13,900 ha |
| 2010 | 4,890 ha | 11,100 ha | 16,000 ha |
| 2011 | 8,850 ha | 17,800 ha | 26,600 ha |
| 2012 | 2,650 ha | 10,200 ha | 12,800 ha |
| 2013 | 5,400 ha | 23,000 ha | 28,400 ha |
| 2014 | 19,800 ha | 69,600 ha | 89,400 ha |
| 2015 | 7,650 ha | 38,400 ha | 46,100 ha |
| 2016 | 6,350 ha | 41,400 ha | 47,700 ha |
| 2017 | 7,520 ha | 46,700 ha | 54,300 ha |
| 2018 | 5,550 ha | 34,000 ha | 39,500 ha |
| 2019 | 5,710 ha | 27,600 ha | 33,400 ha |
| 2020 | 5,520 ha | 25,100 ha | 30,600 ha |
| 2021 | 7,810 ha | 43,000 ha | 50,800 ha |
| 2022 | 4,990 ha | 21,500 ha | 26,400 ha |
| 2023 | 14,100 ha | 47,700 ha | 61,800 ha |
| 2024 | 6,700 ha | 25,300 ha | 32,000 ha |
| 2025 | 7,600 ha | 30,100 ha | 37,700 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 41,800 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 41,100 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2014, when about 89,400 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Bas-Congo?
- Shifting farmingcan grow back80% · 575,000 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good20% · 142,000 ha
Also: towns and roads, logging, storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, mining and energy, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
Other regions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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