City report · Zaire, Angola
Soyo Air quality today
Air quality in Soyo currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 53
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.9
- tree cover
- 23.9%
- trees in this area
- 62.5K
- more trees needed
- 15.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Soyo, Angola (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 6, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Soyo · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Soyo's tree count comes to 62,470 trees across 10.46 km² of land, 6 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 15,944 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Soyo today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.9
PM10
13.6
NO₂
1.5
O₃
41.0
SO₂
0.5
CO
137.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Soyo's daily AQI at 48 on average, from 40 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 56 on Nov 5.
Where Soyo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Soyo: Below target
23.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.46 km² of land.
Trees in this area
62,470
Target trees
78,414
More trees needed
15,944
CO₂ if planted / yr
350.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Soyo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Soyo has lost about 1,920 hectares of forest (about 2,700 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from April 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,920 haabout 2,700 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 19%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,340 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 57 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 76 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2010, when about 308 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 | 12 ha | 4 ha | 16 ha |
| 2002 | 96 ha | 26 ha | 122 ha |
| 2003 | 40 ha | 8 ha | 48 ha |
| 2004 | 21 ha | 7 ha | 27 ha |
| 2005 | 15 ha | 2 ha | 17 ha |
| 2006 | 58 ha | 45 ha | 103 ha |
| 2007 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2008 | 59 ha | 3 ha | 61 ha |
| 2009 | 68 ha | 13 ha | 81 ha |
| 2010 | 218 ha | 90 ha | 308 ha |
| 2011 | 34 ha | 15 ha | 50 ha |
| 2012 | 67 ha | 36 ha | 103 ha |
| 2013 | 61 ha | 13 ha | 74 ha |
| 2014 | 101 ha | 80 ha | 181 ha |
| 2015 | 38 ha | 18 ha | 56 ha |
| 2016 | 47 ha | 42 ha | 89 ha |
| 2017 | 117 ha | 73 ha | 190 ha |
| 2018 | 21 ha | 13 ha | 34 ha |
| 2019 | 22 ha | 23 ha | 45 ha |
| 2020 | 11 ha | 8 ha | 19 ha |
| 2021 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 11 ha |
| 2022 | 54 ha | 32 ha | 86 ha |
| 2023 | 106 ha | 7 ha | 113 ha |
| 2024 | 24 ha | 7 ha | 31 ha |
| 2025 | 31 ha | 11 ha | 42 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Soyo?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good51% · 988 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back26% · 501 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good15% · 286 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, 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
- 2,520 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,640 ha
- Overall change
- −878 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Soyo shrank from about 2,520 hectares to 1,640 hectares, a net loss of about 878 hectares (−35%). New forest grew on about 27 hectares, but 905 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 Soyo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Moanda23.1 km
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 54
- Cabinda66.6 km
Angola
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 60
- Boma82.0 km
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 35
- Matadi125.4 km
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 32
- Pointe-Noire161.1 km
Republic of the Congo
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 65
- Mbanza Kongo207.2 km
Angola
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 52
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Frequently asked
Questions about Soyo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Soyo right now?
The latest reading for Soyo shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Soyo today?
At AQI 53 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Soyo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Soyo's daily AQI at 48 on average, from 40 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 56 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Soyo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Soyo has lost about 1,920 hectares of forest (about 2,700 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 57 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 76 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Soyo shrank from about 2,520 hectares to 1,640 hectares, a net loss of about 878 hectares (−35%). New forest grew on about 27 hectares, but 905 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Soyo?
Soyo has an estimated 62,470 trees across the 10.46 km² of land measured — 23.9% tree cover, 6 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Soyo need?
Soyo needs roughly 15,944 more trees to close a 6-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 350.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Soyo'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 Soyo; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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