City report · Bosnia and Herzegovina
Banja Luka Air quality today
Air quality in Banja Luka currently reads AQI 163 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
AQI 163
Air quality right now
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 72.6
- tree cover
- 19.8%
- trees in this area
- 62.1K
- more trees needed
- 63.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around 78000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 13, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Banja Luka · AQI 163 (Unhealthy)
Banja Luka's tree count comes to 62,079 trees across 12.54 km² of land, 20 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 63,333 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Banja Luka today: AQI 163, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · BANJA LUKA - LAZAREVO, 2.1 km away
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
72.6
PM10
82.2
NO₂
27.3
O₃
—
SO₂
12.8
CO
930.0
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Banja Luka's daily AQI at 105 on average, from 60 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 176 on Nov 9.
Where Banja Luka stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Banja Luka: Critically low
19.8% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.54 km² of land.
Trees in this area
62,079
Target trees
125,412
More trees needed
63,333
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,393 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Banja Luka lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Banja Luka has lost about 121 hectares of forest (about 170 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was logging (42%), after which forest can grow back. About 42 hectares (35%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 121 haabout 170 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 42 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 13 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 | 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2009 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 7 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2017 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | 6 ha | 8 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 7 ha |
| 2023 | 4 ha | 9 ha | 13 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | 5 ha | 8 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | 11 ha | 12 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Banja Luka?
- Loggingcan grow back42% · 51 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good33% · 40 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back2.2% · 3 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, mining and energy, 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
- 15,800 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 16,100 ha
- Overall change
- +338 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Banja Luka grew from about 15,800 hectares to 16,100 hectares, a net gain of about 338 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 462 hectares, while 124 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 Banja Luka
What is the air quality (AQI) in Banja Luka right now?
The latest reading for Banja Luka shows an AQI of 163 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by the BANJA LUKA - LAZAREVO ground monitoring station, 2.1 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 Banja Luka today?
At AQI 163 (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 Banja Luka been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Banja Luka's daily AQI at 105 on average, from 60 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 176 on Nov 9. On 4 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Banja Luka lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Banja Luka has lost about 121 hectares of forest (about 170 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was logging (42%), after which forest can grow back. About 42 hectares (35%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Banja Luka grew from about 15,800 hectares to 16,100 hectares, a net gain of about 338 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 462 hectares, while 124 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Banja Luka?
Banja Luka has an estimated 62,079 trees across the 12.54 km² of land measured — 19.8% tree cover, 20 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Banja Luka need?
Banja Luka needs roughly 63,333 more trees to close a 20-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 1,393 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Banja Luka's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near 78000 Banja Luka, 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 78000 Banja Luka; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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