City report · Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tshikapa Air quality today
Air quality in Tshikapa currently reads AQI 34 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 34
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.5
- tree cover
- 35.5%
- trees in this area
- 101K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Tshikapa City, Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 19, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Tshikapa · AQI 34 (Good)
Tshikapa's tree count comes to 101,489 trees across 11.44 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Tshikapa today: AQI 34, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.5
PM10
5.7
NO₂
0.6
O₃
50.0
SO₂
0.3
CO
174.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tshikapa's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 45 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 102 on Nov 10.
Where Tshikapa stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Tshikapa: Healthy tree cover
35.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.44 km² of land.
Trees in this area
101,489
Target trees
101,489
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tshikapa lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tshikapa has lost about 623 hectares of forest (about 870 football pitches): 7.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (78%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 623 haabout 870 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 7.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 488 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2006, when about 45 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 | 23 ha | 8 ha | 31 ha |
| 2002 | 24 ha | 4 ha | 28 ha |
| 2003 | 13 ha | 2 ha | 15 ha |
| 2004 | 9 ha | 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2005 | 15 ha | 2 ha | 17 ha |
| 2006 | 34 ha | 11 ha | 45 ha |
| 2007 | 17 ha | 6 ha | 23 ha |
| 2008 | 24 ha | 3 ha | 27 ha |
| 2009 | 26 ha | 3 ha | 30 ha |
| 2010 | 29 ha | 7 ha | 36 ha |
| 2011 | 7 ha | 2 ha | 10 ha |
| 2012 | 39 ha | 4 ha | 43 ha |
| 2013 | 21 ha | 5 ha | 26 ha |
| 2014 | 22 ha | 16 ha | 37 ha |
| 2015 | 23 ha | 5 ha | 28 ha |
| 2016 | 11 ha | 3 ha | 14 ha |
| 2017 | 24 ha | 9 ha | 33 ha |
| 2018 | 24 ha | 15 ha | 40 ha |
| 2019 | 16 ha | 4 ha | 20 ha |
| 2020 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 11 ha |
| 2021 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2023 | 17 ha | 2 ha | 19 ha |
| 2024 | 21 ha | 11 ha | 32 ha |
| 2025 | 27 ha | 9 ha | 35 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Tshikapa?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good71% · 443 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back22% · 134 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good6.7% · 42 ha
Also: 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
- 2,720 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,700 ha
- Overall change
- −20 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tshikapa stayed about the same size, at about 2,700 hectares: new forest grew on about 158 hectares, and about 178 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Tshikapa
What is the air quality (AQI) in Tshikapa right now?
The latest reading for Tshikapa shows an AQI of 34 (Good), observed Nov 11, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Tshikapa today?
At AQI 34 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Tshikapa been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tshikapa's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 45 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 102 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 Tshikapa lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tshikapa has lost about 623 hectares of forest (about 870 football pitches): 7.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (78%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tshikapa stayed about the same size, at about 2,700 hectares: new forest grew on about 158 hectares, and about 178 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Tshikapa?
Tshikapa has an estimated 101,489 trees across the 11.44 km² of land measured — 35.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Tshikapa need?
Tshikapa has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Tshikapa'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 Tshikapa City; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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