Air quality comparison · Serbia, 201 km apart
Belgrade vs Niš Air quality index (AQI) today
Belgrade has cleaner air than Niš right now: AQI 92 (Moderate) against 194 (Unhealthy).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Niš averaged AQI 81 against 96, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Belgrade has lost more forest since 2001. Belgrade has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Belgrade92Niš194
Head to head
Belgrade vs Niš at a glance
Belgrade is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Niš on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Belgrade | Niš | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 92 (better) | 194 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 31.1 (better) | 117.1 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 96 | 81 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 460 ha | 58 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 20.7% (better) | 20.5% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 28.0K (better) | 61.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Belgrade and Niš right now?
Belgrade has cleaner air than Niš right now: AQI 92 (Moderate) against 194 (Unhealthy). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Belgrade's PM2.5 is about 2.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Niš's PM2.5 is about 7.8× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
BelgradeNiš
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Belgrade: Ground station · Belgrade-Mostar, 1.3 km away · median of 9 stations. Data: OpenAQ · EEA, World Air Quality Index Project, SEPA - Serbian National Air Monitoring network (Državna mreža za automatski monitoring kvaliteta vazduha).
Niš: Ground station · Medoševac , 3.2 km away · median of 4 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, EEA, lazars.net.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Niš averaged AQI 81 against 96, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Belgrade3Niš4
- Average AQI
- Belgrade96Niš81
- Worst day, AQI
- Belgrade113Niš106
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Belgrade | Niš |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 72 | 58 |
| Nov 5 | 80 | 92 |
| Nov 6 | 100 | 106 |
| Nov 7 | 95 | 98 |
| Nov 8 | 98 | 79 |
| Nov 9 | 113 | 71 |
| Nov 10 | 113 | 64 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Belgrade and Niš today?
Belgrade (AQI 92, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Niš (AQI 194, Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Exercise outdoors
- Belgrade
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Niš
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it.
Windows
- Belgrade
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Niš
- Keep them closed.
Masks
- Belgrade
- Not needed for most people.
- Niš
- Wear an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Belgrade
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Niš
- Run one.
Against everywhere else
How do Belgrade and Niš compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Belgrade's air is cleaner than 24% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Niš's is cleaner than 4%. Within Serbia, that is 40% and 0% of its 6 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Belgrade
- Beats 24%
- Niš
- Beats 4%
More tree cover than…
- Belgrade
- Beats 48%
- Niš
- Beats 48%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Belgrade or Niš?
Belgrade has lost more: about 460 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 58 ha around Niš. 45 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Measured within 10 km of each center, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: a wider circle than the one for tree cover, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Worst year: 2016, with 71 ha lost.
Worst year: 2023, with 14 ha lost.
| Belgrade | Niš | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 460 ha | 58 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 11% | under 1% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 45 ha | 12 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Logging (88%) | Logging (58%) |
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Belgrade
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km northeast of the city center.
Niš
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Belgrade or Niš?
Belgrade has more tree cover: 20.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.5% around Niš, or about 62,300 trees against 64,403.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Belgrade | Niš | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 62.3K | 64.4K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 28.0K (better) | 61.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.4M kg | 1.4M kg (better) |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Belgrade vs Niš: your questions answered
Is Belgrade cleaner than Niš?
On air quality, yes, right now: Belgrade reads AQI 92 against 194, a gap of 102 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Niš averaged AQI 81 against 96, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Belgrade and Niš today?
In Belgrade, at AQI 92: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Niš, at AQI 194: Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Which has lost more forest, Belgrade or Niš?
Belgrade has lost more: about 460 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 58 ha around Niš. 45 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Belgrade or Niš?
Belgrade has more tree cover: 20.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.5% around Niš, or about 62,300 trees against 64,403. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Belgrade and Niš need?
Belgrade needs about 27,990 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Niš about 61,261 to reach 40%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Belgrade and Niš measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Belgrade vs Niš comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Sep 17, 2026 and Sep 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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