City report · Balıkesir, Turkey
Balıkesir Air quality today
Air quality in Balıkesir currently reads AQI 156 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Air quality right now
AQI 156
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 63.2
- tree cover
- 9.5%
- trees in this area
- 29.8K
- more trees needed
- 95.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Balıkesir, Türkiye (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Balıkesir · AQI 156 (Unhealthy)
Balıkesir's tree count comes to 29,845 trees across 12.57 km², 31 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 95,819 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Balıkesir today: AQI 156, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Balikesir, Turkey, 1.9 km away
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
63.2
PM10
121.7
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Turkey National Air Quality Monitoring Network (Ulusal Hava Kalitesi İzleme Ağı)
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it
- Windows
- Keep them closed
- Mask
- Wear an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Balıkesir's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 34 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 83 on Nov 9.
Where Balıkesir stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Balıkesir: Critically low
9.5% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
29,845
Target trees
125,664
More trees needed
95,819
CO₂ if planted / yr
2,108 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Balıkesir lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Balıkesir has lost about 41 hectares of forest (about 58 football pitches): 6.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 15 hectares (37%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 41 haabout 58 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 15 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 7 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | 4 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 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 Balıkesir?
- Loggingcan grow back55% · 23 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good25% · 10 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good12% · 5 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 1,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,380 ha
- Overall change
- +77 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Balıkesir grew from about 1,300 hectares to 1,380 hectares, a net gain of about 77 hectares (+5.9%). New forest grew on about 100 hectares, while 24 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Balıkesir
What is the air quality (AQI) in Balıkesir right now?
The latest reading for Balıkesir shows an AQI of 156 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by the Balikesir, Turkey ground monitoring station, 1.9 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Balıkesir today?
At AQI 156 (Unhealthy): everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it. Windows: keep them closed. Masks: wear an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Balıkesir been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Balıkesir's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 34 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 83 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Balıkesir lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Balıkesir has lost about 41 hectares of forest (about 58 football pitches): 6.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 15 hectares (37%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Balıkesir grew from about 1,300 hectares to 1,380 hectares, a net gain of about 77 hectares (+5.9%). New forest grew on about 100 hectares, while 24 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Balıkesir?
Balıkesir has an estimated 29,845 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 9.5% tree cover, 31 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Balıkesir need?
Balıkesir needs roughly 95,819 more trees to close a 31-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 2,108 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Balıkesir's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Balıkesir, 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 Balıkesir; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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