City report · Tanzania
Songea Air quality today
Air quality in Songea currently reads AQI 128 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 128
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 41.9
- tree cover
- 24.1%
- trees in this area
- 75.7K
- more trees needed
- 34.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Songea, Ruvuma, Tanzania, the United Republic of (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 21, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Songea · AQI 128 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Songea's tree count comes to 75,712 trees across 12.57 km², 11 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 34,243 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Songea today: AQI 128, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Mzuzu and Karonga
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
41.9
PM10
16.9
NO₂
0.5
O₃
73.0
SO₂
0.6
CO
127.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Songea's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 51 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 86 on Nov 6.
Where Songea stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Songea: Below target
24.1% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
75,712
Target trees
109,955
More trees needed
34,243
CO₂ if planted / yr
753.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Songea lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Songea has lost about 1,040 hectares of forest (about 1,500 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (37%). About 395 hectares (38%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,040 haabout 1,500 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 15%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 395 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 155 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 7 ha | 4 ha | 11 ha |
| 2002 | 13 ha | 28 ha | 41 ha |
| 2003 | 3 ha | 22 ha | 25 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | 27 ha | 31 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 51 ha | 53 ha |
| 2006 | 20 ha | 39 ha | 59 ha |
| 2007 | 41 ha | 114 ha | 155 ha |
| 2008 | 47 ha | 46 ha | 93 ha |
| 2009 | 50 ha | 81 ha | 131 ha |
| 2010 | 11 ha | 37 ha | 48 ha |
| 2011 | 22 ha | 25 ha | 47 ha |
| 2012 | 29 ha | 29 ha | 58 ha |
| 2013 | 5 ha | 15 ha | 19 ha |
| 2014 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 9 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | 49 ha | 52 ha |
| 2016 | 16 ha | 31 ha | 47 ha |
| 2017 | 19 ha | 4 ha | 23 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2019 | 6 ha | 7 ha | 12 ha |
| 2020 | 13 ha | 13 ha | 27 ha |
| 2021 | 8 ha | 2 ha | 10 ha |
| 2022 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2023 | 19 ha | 9 ha | 28 ha |
| 2024 | 19 ha | 3 ha | 22 ha |
| 2025 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Songea?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good37% · 383 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back33% · 340 ha
- Loggingcan grow back29% · 298 ha
Also: towns and roads, wildfires, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 5,670 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,350 ha
- Overall change
- −318 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Songea shrank from about 5,670 hectares to 5,350 hectares, a net loss of about 318 hectares (−5.6%). New forest grew on about 263 hectares, but 581 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
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. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Songea
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
Build your own
Compare Songea with anywhere
This place
Songea
Use this data
Put Songea's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Songea
What is the air quality (AQI) in Songea right now?
The latest reading for Songea shows an AQI of 128 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 11, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Songea today?
At AQI 128 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Songea been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Songea's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 51 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 86 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Songea lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Songea has lost about 1,040 hectares of forest (about 1,500 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was farms, pasture and plantations (37%). About 395 hectares (38%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Songea shrank from about 5,670 hectares to 5,350 hectares, a net loss of about 318 hectares (−5.6%). New forest grew on about 263 hectares, but 581 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Songea?
Songea has an estimated 75,712 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 24.1% tree cover, 11 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Songea need?
Songea needs roughly 34,243 more trees to close a 11-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 753.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Songea's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Songea; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address