Democratic Republic of the Congo · North Kivu · 2 cities
Air quality in North Kivu today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Beni has the cleanest air of the 2 cities we track in North Kivu (AQI 41, Good), and Butembo the worst (AQI 51, Moderate). Beni has the most tree cover, at 19.8% — #18 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.
- cities tracked
- 2
- average tree cover
- 19.5%
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: 28.4%
- worst air now: Butembo
- 51
- cleanest air now: Beni
- 41
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
North Kivu
Air quality today across North Kivu, city by city
| Butembo | 51Moderate | 19.2% | 33.9K | #19 of 35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beni | 41Good | 19.8% | 32.0K | #18 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 North Kivu lost?
Since 2001, North Kivu has lost about 726,000 hectares of forest (about 7,300 km²): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 195,000 hectares (27%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 726,000 haabout 7,300 km²
- Share of its forest
- 13%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 195,000 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 | 4,950 ha | 13,600 ha | 18,500 ha |
| 2002 | 1,970 ha | 9,130 ha | 11,100 ha |
| 2003 | 2,360 ha | 5,430 ha | 7,780 ha |
| 2004 | 4,020 ha | 8,820 ha | 12,800 ha |
| 2005 | 6,560 ha | 11,500 ha | 18,100 ha |
| 2006 | 3,560 ha | 10,100 ha | 13,700 ha |
| 2007 | 5,400 ha | 15,400 ha | 20,800 ha |
| 2008 | 3,530 ha | 8,200 ha | 11,700 ha |
| 2009 | 7,520 ha | 14,900 ha | 22,400 ha |
| 2010 | 4,840 ha | 11,100 ha | 16,000 ha |
| 2011 | 5,700 ha | 11,000 ha | 16,700 ha |
| 2012 | 4,280 ha | 9,220 ha | 13,500 ha |
| 2013 | 10,500 ha | 25,400 ha | 35,900 ha |
| 2014 | 13,100 ha | 28,700 ha | 41,800 ha |
| 2015 | 8,820 ha | 19,100 ha | 27,900 ha |
| 2016 | 8,320 ha | 27,100 ha | 35,500 ha |
| 2017 | 14,500 ha | 30,600 ha | 45,100 ha |
| 2018 | 14,300 ha | 38,100 ha | 52,400 ha |
| 2019 | 7,680 ha | 26,000 ha | 33,700 ha |
| 2020 | 10,600 ha | 29,900 ha | 40,500 ha |
| 2021 | 10,400 ha | 30,400 ha | 40,800 ha |
| 2022 | 11,600 ha | 37,900 ha | 49,600 ha |
| 2023 | 13,400 ha | 48,500 ha | 61,900 ha |
| 2024 | 8,700 ha | 35,200 ha | 43,900 ha |
| 2025 | 7,980 ha | 25,500 ha | 33,500 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 45,900 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 41,400 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2023, when about 61,900 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in North Kivu?
- Shifting farmingcan grow back67% · 488,000 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good25% · 184,000 ha
- Loggingcan grow back4.5% · 32,900 ha
Also: towns and roads, 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
Clean-air buying guides
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