Bağcılar vs Istanbul
Tree cover and air quality for both, measured the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius from each city centre, and the live US EPA air quality index. Same radius and same index, so the two numbers compare directly.
Istanbul has more tree cover — 11.4% against 6.1%.
Bağcılar has cleaner air right now — AQI 75 against 77.
- Tree cover gap
- 5.3 points
- Istanbul is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 2 AQI
- Bağcılar is cleaner.
- Trees between them
- 12.0K
- Istanbul has more standing.
Tree cover
Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.
6.1%
11.4%
Air quality index
US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.
75 · Moderate
77 · Moderate
Trees standing
Estimated from the measured canopy area.
19.2K
31.2K
Trees still needed
To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.
75.1K
50.8K
CO₂ absorbed each year
By the trees already standing.
422K kg
685K kg
Air quality in detail
What each city is breathing
Concentrations in µg/m³, measured at the same moment as the index above. Lower is better in every row. Both are read from nearby ground stations.
PM2.5
Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.
23.6 µg/m³
24.4 µg/m³
PM10
Coarser particles — dust, pollen, road grit.
37.1 µg/m³
41.5 µg/m³
The last week, day by day
A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon. The week says whether it was the weather or the place.
| Day | Bağcılar | Istanbul |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept | 49 | 44 |
| 23 Sept | 45 | 39 |
| 24 Sept | 65 | 63 |
| 25 Sept | 66 | 48 |
| 26 Sept | 42 | 30 |
| 27 Sept | 35 | 33 |
| 28 Sept | 37 | 31 |
Reading these numbers
What is actually being measured
Tree cover
The share of ground under canopy inside a 2 km radius of each city centre, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It is a measurement of that circle, not of the whole municipality — which is exactly what makes the two comparable, since city boundaries are drawn to wildly different rules around the world. Istanbul leads here at 11.4%.
Air quality index
The live US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations — ground stations where a city has them nearby, and a model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so this is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place: Bağcılar reads 75 (moderate) and Istanbul reads 77 (moderate) right now.
Frequently asked
Bağcılar and Istanbul, answered
Which has more trees, Bağcılar or Istanbul?
Istanbul, with roughly 31,158 trees inside its 2 km radius against 19,164. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Istanbul has the denser canopy at 11.4%.
Which has better air quality, Bağcılar or Istanbul?
Bağcılar right now, at AQI 75 against 77 — a gap of 2 points. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day.
How many more trees does each city need?
Bağcılar needs about 75,084 more to reach its canopy target, and Istanbul about 50,837. The target is the same share of ground for both, so the figures are directly comparable.
Are these two measured the same way?
Yes — that is the point of the page. Identical radius, identical satellite source at 10 m detail, and the same US EPA index for air. Nothing here is adjusted for population, city limits or climate, so the numbers describe the same-sized circle of ground in each place.
Keep going
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