City report · Nairobi County, Kenya
Thika Air quality today
Air quality in Thika currently reads AQI 62 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 62
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 16.7
- tree cover
- 25.2%
- trees in this area
- 78.9K
- more trees needed
- 15.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Thika, Kenya (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Thika · AQI 62 (Moderate)
Thika's tree count comes to 78,931 trees across 12.53 km² of land, 5 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 15,034 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Thika today: AQI 62, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 45 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 45 km, e.g. Ruiru and Kiambu
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
16.7
PM10
6.9
NO₂
4.2
O₃
40.0
SO₂
1.6
CO
317.0
- 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 Thika's daily AQI at 38 on average, from 33 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 10.
Where Thika stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Thika: Below target
25.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.53 km² of land.
Trees in this area
78,931
Target trees
93,965
More trees needed
15,034
CO₂ if planted / yr
330.7 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Thika lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Thika has lost about 303 hectares of forest (about 420 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (73%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 303 haabout 420 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 19%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 221 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 46 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 | 40 ha | 7 ha | 46 ha |
| 2002 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | 9 ha | 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | 36 ha | 4 ha | 40 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2011 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2012 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 6 ha | 15 ha | 21 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 8 ha |
| 2018 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 38 ha | 3 ha | 42 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2024 | 15 ha | 22 ha | 37 ha |
| 2025 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Thika?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good68% · 205 ha
- Loggingcan grow back25% · 75 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good5% · 15 ha
Also: 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
- 8,140 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,420 ha
- Overall change
- −713 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Thika shrank from about 8,140 hectares to 7,420 hectares, a net loss of about 713 hectares (−8.8%). New forest grew on about 198 hectares, but 910 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 Thika
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Ruiru17.4 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 96
- Kiambu30.2 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 104
- Karuri38.3 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 50%
- Air quality
- 96
- Nairobi39.5 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 96
- Mlolongo42.8 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 85
- Limuru48.3 km
Kenya
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 104
Also compared:Thika vs Mwala
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Frequently asked
Questions about Thika
What is the air quality (AQI) in Thika right now?
The latest reading for Thika shows an AQI of 62 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 45 km, 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 Thika today?
At AQI 62 (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 Thika been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Thika's daily AQI at 38 on average, from 33 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Thika lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Thika has lost about 303 hectares of forest (about 420 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (73%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Thika shrank from about 8,140 hectares to 7,420 hectares, a net loss of about 713 hectares (−8.8%). New forest grew on about 198 hectares, but 910 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Thika?
Thika has an estimated 78,931 trees across the 12.53 km² of land measured — 25.2% tree cover, 5 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Thika need?
Thika needs roughly 15,034 more trees to close a 5-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 330.7 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Thika'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 Thika; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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