City report · Cameroon
Yaoundé Air quality today
Air quality in Yaoundé currently reads AQI 99 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 99
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 35.1
- tree cover
- 9.8%
- trees in this area
- 30.7K
- more trees needed
- 63.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Centre ville, Yaoundé, Cameroon (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Apr 20, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Yaoundé · AQI 99 (Moderate)
Yaoundé's tree count comes to 30,695 trees across 12.53 km² of land, 20 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 63,270 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Yaoundé today: AQI 99, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:06 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · CAY5/Essos, 2.2 km away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
35.1
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · Clarity
- 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 Yaoundé's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 27 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 7.
Where Yaoundé stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Yaoundé: Critically low
9.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.53 km² of land.
Trees in this area
30,695
Target trees
93,965
More trees needed
63,270
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,392 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Yaoundé lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Yaoundé has lost about 6,260 hectares of forest (about 8,800 football pitches): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 6,260 haabout 8,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 39%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 6,210 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 82 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 252 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2008, when about 869 hectares of forest were lost.
Yaoundé's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 112 ha | under 1 ha | 112 ha |
| 2002 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2003 | 458 ha | 1 ha | 459 ha |
| 2004 | 142 ha | under 1 ha | 142 ha |
| 2005 | 205 ha | under 1 ha | 205 ha |
| 2006 | 363 ha | under 1 ha | 363 ha |
| 2007 | 41 ha | under 1 ha | 41 ha |
| 2008 | 868 ha | 1 ha | 869 ha |
| 2009 | 72 ha | under 1 ha | 72 ha |
| 2010 | 495 ha | under 1 ha | 495 ha |
| 2011 | 136 ha | under 1 ha | 136 ha |
| 2012 | 151 ha | 4 ha | 155 ha |
| 2013 | 454 ha | 5 ha | 459 ha |
| 2014 | 736 ha | 10 ha | 746 ha |
| 2015 | 308 ha | under 1 ha | 308 ha |
| 2016 | 277 ha | 1 ha | 278 ha |
| 2017 | 467 ha | 2 ha | 469 ha |
| 2018 | 236 ha | 3 ha | 239 ha |
| 2019 | 132 ha | under 1 ha | 132 ha |
| 2020 | 141 ha | 1 ha | 142 ha |
| 2021 | 80 ha | 2 ha | 82 ha |
| 2022 | 140 ha | 3 ha | 143 ha |
| 2023 | 63 ha | 6 ha | 68 ha |
| 2024 | 54 ha | 4 ha | 58 ha |
| 2025 | 55 ha | 6 ha | 61 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Yaoundé?
- Towns and roadscleared for good97% · 6,060 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.7% · 107 ha
Also: shifting farming, 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
- 14,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,680 ha
- Overall change
- −6,570 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Yaoundé shrank from about 14,300 hectares to 7,680 hectares, a net loss of about 6,570 hectares (−46%). New forest grew on about 99 hectares, but 6,670 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 Yaoundé
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Ébolowa114.9 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 55%
- Air quality
- 104
- Edéa153.7 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 58%
- Air quality
- 55
- Ebebiyin191.8 km
Equatorial Guinea
- Tree cover
- 59%
- Air quality
- 48
- Nkongsamba212.5 km
Cameroon
- Tree cover
- 52%
- Air quality
- 154
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Frequently asked
Questions about Yaoundé
What is the air quality (AQI) in Yaoundé right now?
The latest reading for Yaoundé shows an AQI of 99 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:06 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is CAY5/Essos, 2.2 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Yaoundé today?
At AQI 99 (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 Yaoundé been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Yaoundé's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 27 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Yaoundé lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Yaoundé has lost about 6,260 hectares of forest (about 8,800 football pitches): 39% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 82 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 252 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Yaoundé shrank from about 14,300 hectares to 7,680 hectares, a net loss of about 6,570 hectares (−46%). New forest grew on about 99 hectares, but 6,670 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Yaoundé?
Yaoundé has an estimated 30,695 trees across the 12.53 km² of land measured — 9.8% tree cover, 20 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Yaoundé need?
Yaoundé needs roughly 63,270 more trees to close a 20-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,392 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Yaoundé's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Centre ville, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. 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 Centre ville; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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