Nigeria · Delta · 2 cities
Air quality in Delta today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Sapele has the cleanest air of the 2 cities we track in Delta (AQI 68, Moderate), and Warri the worst (AQI 120, Unhealthy for sensitive groups). Sapele has the most tree cover, at 30.2% — #15 of 94 cities measured in Nigeria.
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.
- cities tracked
- 2
- average tree cover
- 20.1%
- Nigeria: 19.4%
- worst air now: Warri
- 120
- cleanest air now: Sapele
- 68
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Delta
Air quality today across Delta, city by city
| Warri | 120Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 9.9% | 71.2K | #56 of 94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sapele | 68Moderate | 30.2% | — | #15 of 94 |
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 Nigeria.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Delta lost?
Since 2001, Delta has lost about 89,700 hectares of forest (about 130,000 football pitches): 9.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (91%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 89,700 haabout 130,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 9.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 81,400 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 | 3,180 ha | 273 ha | 3,450 ha |
| 2002 | 2,350 ha | 258 ha | 2,600 ha |
| 2003 | 598 ha | 61 ha | 659 ha |
| 2004 | 962 ha | 146 ha | 1,110 ha |
| 2005 | 499 ha | 138 ha | 637 ha |
| 2006 | 2,470 ha | 230 ha | 2,700 ha |
| 2007 | 1,500 ha | 130 ha | 1,630 ha |
| 2008 | 1,320 ha | 92 ha | 1,410 ha |
| 2009 | 1,540 ha | 219 ha | 1,760 ha |
| 2010 | 1,380 ha | 118 ha | 1,490 ha |
| 2011 | 3,210 ha | 208 ha | 3,410 ha |
| 2012 | 2,540 ha | 111 ha | 2,650 ha |
| 2013 | 2,060 ha | 261 ha | 2,330 ha |
| 2014 | 3,540 ha | 488 ha | 4,020 ha |
| 2015 | 1,680 ha | 266 ha | 1,950 ha |
| 2016 | 3,690 ha | 428 ha | 4,120 ha |
| 2017 | 10,100 ha | 993 ha | 11,100 ha |
| 2018 | 7,190 ha | 461 ha | 7,650 ha |
| 2019 | 2,440 ha | 141 ha | 2,580 ha |
| 2020 | 3,380 ha | 366 ha | 3,750 ha |
| 2021 | 3,470 ha | 440 ha | 3,910 ha |
| 2022 | 6,510 ha | 527 ha | 7,040 ha |
| 2023 | 2,170 ha | 209 ha | 2,380 ha |
| 2024 | 6,560 ha | 524 ha | 7,080 ha |
| 2025 | 7,040 ha | 1,190 ha | 8,240 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 5,730 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 5,840 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 11,100 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Delta?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good81% · 72,700 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.2% · 7,320 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back5.7% · 5,100 ha
Also: logging, mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, 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
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