Air quality comparison · Serbia, 162 km apart
Kragujevac vs Novi Sad Air quality index (AQI) today
Novi Sad has cleaner air than Kragujevac right now: AQI 93 (Moderate) against 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kragujevac averaged AQI 90 against 98, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Novi Sad has lost more forest since 2001. Novi Sad has more tree cover.
Serbia
AQI 115
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 41.2 µg/m³2.7× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 15:00 local
Serbia
AQI 93
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 31.7 µg/m³2.1× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 17:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Kragujevac115Novi Sad93
Head to head
Kragujevac vs Novi Sad at a glance
Novi Sad is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Kragujevac on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Kragujevac | Novi Sad | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 115 | 93 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 41.2 | 31.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 90 (better) | 98 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 131 ha (better) | 897 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 20.3% | 20.6% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 46.1K | 27.7K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Kragujevac and Novi Sad right now?
Novi Sad has cleaner air than Kragujevac right now: AQI 93 (Moderate) against 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Kragujevac's PM2.5 is about 2.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Novi Sad's PM2.5 is about 2.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
KragujevacNovi Sad
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).
Kragujevac: Ground station · Kragujevac, Serbia, 900 m away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, SEPA - Serbian National Air Monitoring network (Državna mreža za automatski monitoring kvaliteta vazduha).
Novi Sad: Ground station · Novi Sad-Rumenacka, 1.9 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · EEA.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Kragujevac averaged AQI 90 against 98, 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
- Kragujevac4Novi Sad3
- Average AQI
- Kragujevac90Novi Sad98
- Worst day, AQI
- Kragujevac110Novi Sad117
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Kragujevac | Novi Sad |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 92 | 73 |
| Nov 6 | 107 | 89 |
| Nov 7 | 110 | 86 |
| Nov 8 | 93 | 101 |
| Nov 9 | 89 | 112 |
| Nov 10 | 77 | 117 |
| Nov 11 | 61 | 108 |
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 Kragujevac and Novi Sad today?
Kragujevac (AQI 115, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Novi Sad (AQI 93, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Kragujevac
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Novi Sad
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Kragujevac
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Novi Sad
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Kragujevac
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Novi Sad
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Kragujevac
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Novi Sad
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Kragujevac and Novi Sad compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Kragujevac's air is cleaner than 17% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Novi Sad's is cleaner than 24%. Within Serbia, that is 60% and 80% of its 6 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Kragujevac
- Beats 17%
- Novi Sad
- Beats 24%
More tree cover than…
- Kragujevac
- Beats 48%
- Novi Sad
- 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, Kragujevac or Novi Sad?
Novi Sad has lost more: about 897 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 131 ha around Kragujevac. 66 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: 2024, with 20 ha lost.
Worst year: 2023, with 182 ha lost.
| Kragujevac | Novi Sad | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 131 ha (better) | 897 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 1.4% (better) | 17% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 18 ha (better) | 66 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Speeding up |
| Main known cause | Logging (67%) | Logging (92%) |
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.
Kragujevac
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Novi Sad
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km east of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Kragujevac or Novi Sad?
Novi Sad has more tree cover: 20.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.3% around Kragujevac, or about 60,704 trees against 63,711.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Kragujevac | Novi Sad | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 63.7K (better) | 60.7K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 46.1K | 27.7K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.4M kg (better) | 1.3M kg |
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
Kragujevac vs Novi Sad: your questions answered
Is Novi Sad cleaner than Kragujevac?
On air quality, yes, right now: Novi Sad reads AQI 93 against 115, a gap of 22 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, Kragujevac averaged AQI 90 against 98, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Kragujevac and Novi Sad today?
In Kragujevac, at AQI 115: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Novi Sad, at AQI 93: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Kragujevac or Novi Sad?
Novi Sad has lost more: about 897 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 131 ha around Kragujevac. 66 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Kragujevac or Novi Sad?
Novi Sad has more tree cover: 20.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.3% around Kragujevac, or about 60,704 trees against 63,711. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Kragujevac and Novi Sad need?
Kragujevac needs about 46,135 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Novi Sad about 27,700 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Kragujevac and Novi Sad 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 Kragujevac vs Novi Sad 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 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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