Democratic Republic of the Congo · South Kivu · 2 cities
Air quality in South Kivu today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Bukavu has the cleanest air of the 2 cities we track in South Kivu (AQI 38, Good), and Uvira the worst (AQI 52, Moderate). Bukavu has the most tree cover, at 11.9% — #28 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
- 10.8%
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: 28.4%
- worst air now: Uvira
- 52
- cleanest air now: Bukavu
- 38
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
South Kivu
Air quality today across South Kivu, city by city
| Bukavu | 38Good | 11.9% | 41.5K | #28 of 35 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uvira | 52Moderate | 9.8% | 45.4K | #30 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 South Kivu lost?
Since 2001, South Kivu has lost about 823,000 hectares of forest (about 8,200 km²): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to shifting farming, so much of it can grow back. About 184,000 hectares (22%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 823,000 haabout 8,200 km²
- Share of its forest
- 15%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 184,000 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 | 2,860 ha | 7,230 ha | 10,100 ha |
| 2002 | 4,220 ha | 16,800 ha | 21,000 ha |
| 2003 | 3,030 ha | 6,510 ha | 9,540 ha |
| 2004 | 5,980 ha | 20,500 ha | 26,400 ha |
| 2005 | 3,380 ha | 22,500 ha | 25,900 ha |
| 2006 | 1,320 ha | 6,850 ha | 8,170 ha |
| 2007 | 4,860 ha | 18,400 ha | 23,200 ha |
| 2008 | 3,740 ha | 18,700 ha | 22,400 ha |
| 2009 | 4,120 ha | 15,400 ha | 19,500 ha |
| 2010 | 5,750 ha | 14,500 ha | 20,200 ha |
| 2011 | 4,590 ha | 12,200 ha | 16,800 ha |
| 2012 | 3,060 ha | 6,900 ha | 9,960 ha |
| 2013 | 9,510 ha | 37,600 ha | 47,100 ha |
| 2014 | 14,400 ha | 41,200 ha | 55,600 ha |
| 2015 | 11,600 ha | 27,100 ha | 38,800 ha |
| 2016 | 12,000 ha | 46,000 ha | 58,000 ha |
| 2017 | 11,400 ha | 28,300 ha | 39,700 ha |
| 2018 | 11,900 ha | 46,700 ha | 58,700 ha |
| 2019 | 8,090 ha | 39,200 ha | 47,300 ha |
| 2020 | 10,700 ha | 36,800 ha | 47,500 ha |
| 2021 | 10,600 ha | 31,200 ha | 41,800 ha |
| 2022 | 6,290 ha | 33,200 ha | 39,500 ha |
| 2023 | 12,200 ha | 40,700 ha | 52,900 ha |
| 2024 | 9,810 ha | 39,100 ha | 48,900 ha |
| 2025 | 8,750 ha | 25,000 ha | 33,700 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 43,400 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 50,200 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2018, when about 58,700 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in South Kivu?
- Shifting farmingcan grow back76% · 625,000 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good22% · 180,000 ha
Also: logging, wildfires, storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, towns and roads, 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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