City report · Kazakhstan
Almaty Air quality today
Air quality in Almaty currently reads AQI 35 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 35
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.3
- tree cover
- 37.0%
- trees in this area
- 116K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Almaly District, Almaty, Kazakhstan (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Almaty · AQI 35 (Good)
Almaty's tree count comes to 116,239 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Almaty today: AQI 35, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 23:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Qazybek bi – Nurmaqov, 400 m away · median of 74 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.3
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Almaty Air Initiative, Nail Akhmedshin, Bolashaq
- 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 Almaty's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 75 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 131 on Nov 6.
Where Almaty stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Almaty: Healthy tree cover
37.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
116,239
Target trees
116,239
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Almaty lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Almaty has lost about 114 hectares of forest (about 160 football pitches): 2.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (90%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 114 haabout 160 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 103 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 34 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 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2003 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2004 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2006 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2007 | 32 ha | 2 ha | 34 ha |
| 2008 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2010 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2011 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Almaty?
- Towns and roadscleared for good88% · 101 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.9% · 2 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown8.7% · 10 ha
Also: wildfires.
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
- 5,190 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,740 ha
- Overall change
- +552 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Almaty grew from about 5,190 hectares to 5,740 hectares, a net gain of about 552 hectares (+11%). New forest grew on about 789 hectares, while 237 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 Almaty
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Tokmok138.6 km
Kyrgyzstan
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 12
- Bishkek193.3 km
Kyrgyzstan
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 6
- Taldykorgan228.1 km
Kazakhstan
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 28
- Huocheng330.8 km
China
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 68
- Aqsu360.2 km
China
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 209
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Frequently asked
Questions about Almaty
What is the air quality (AQI) in Almaty right now?
The latest reading for Almaty shows an AQI of 35 (Good), measured Nov 11, 23:00 local time by 74 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Qazybek bi – Nurmaqov, 400 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Almaty today?
At AQI 35 (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 Almaty been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Almaty's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 75 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 131 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Almaty lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Almaty has lost about 114 hectares of forest (about 160 football pitches): 2.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (90%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Almaty grew from about 5,190 hectares to 5,740 hectares, a net gain of about 552 hectares (+11%). New forest grew on about 789 hectares, while 237 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Almaty?
Almaty has an estimated 116,239 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 37.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Almaty need?
Almaty has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Almaty's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Almaly District, 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 Almaly District; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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