Ethiopia · Tigray · 3 cities
Air quality in Tigray today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Inda Silasē has the cleanest air of the 3 cities we track in Tigray (AQI 28, Good), and Mek'ele the worst (AQI 60, Moderate). Inda Silasē has the most tree cover, at 19.2% — #18 of 29 cities measured in Ethiopia.
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.
Average right now
AQI 46
Good
- cities tracked
- 3
- average tree cover
- 16.3%
- Ethiopia: 22.2%
- worst air now: Mek'ele
- 60
- cleanest air now: Inda Silasē
- 28
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Tigray · average AQI 46
Air quality today across Tigray, city by city
| Mek'ele | 60Moderate | 17.5% | 39.3K | #21 of 29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ādīgrat | 51Moderate | 12.2% | 55.9K | #24 of 29 |
| Inda Silasē | 28Good | 19.2% | 33.9K | #18 of 29 |
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 Ethiopia.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tigray lost?
Since 2001, Tigray has lost about 264 hectares of forest (about 370 football pitches): 5.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 32 hectares (12%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 264 haabout 370 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 32 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 | under 1 ha | 9 ha | 9 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2008 | 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 13 ha | 13 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 11 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 17 ha | 18 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | 7 ha | 8 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 12 ha | 12 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | 8 ha | 9 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 26 ha | 26 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 30 ha | 30 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 20 ha | 20 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 19 ha | 19 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 8 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | 4 ha | 6 ha |
| 2022 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | 6 ha | 8 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | 10 ha | 14 ha |
| 2025 | 9 ha | 18 ha | 27 ha |
The worst year was 2017, when about 30 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Tigray?
- Loggingcan grow back76% · 200 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good12% · 32 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back6.1% · 16 ha
Also: towns and roads, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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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