City report · Russia
Cherkessk Air quality today
Air quality in Cherkessk currently reads AQI 23 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 23
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 3.9
- tree cover
- 26.5%
- trees in this area
- 83.0K
- more trees needed
- 11.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Cherkessk, Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cherkessk · AQI 23 (Good)
Cherkessk's tree count comes to 83,002 trees across 12.53 km² of land, 3 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 10,963 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cherkessk today: AQI 23, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 13:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
3.9
PM10
4.9
NO₂
3.0
O₃
75.0
SO₂
1.7
CO
137.0
- 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 Cherkessk's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 23 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 10.
Where Cherkessk stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cherkessk: Below target
26.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.53 km² of land.
Trees in this area
83,002
Target trees
93,965
More trees needed
10,963
CO₂ if planted / yr
241.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cherkessk lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cherkessk has lost about 127 hectares of forest (about 180 football pitches): 6.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for mining and energy.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 4 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 127 haabout 180 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 87 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2018, when about 28 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 | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | 10 ha | 12 ha |
| 2017 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2018 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 11 ha | 11 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Cherkessk?
- Mining and energycleared for good31% · 39 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good21% · 26 ha
- Loggingcan grow back19% · 24 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 2,040 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,090 ha
- Overall change
- +53 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cherkessk grew from about 2,040 hectares to 2,090 hectares, a net gain of about 53 hectares (+2.6%). New forest grew on about 212 hectares, while 159 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 Cherkessk
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Nevinnomyssk46.2 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 36
- Kislovodsk64.0 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 47%
- Air quality
- 36
- Pyatigorsk82.4 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 28
- Stavropol90.4 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 54
- Armavir113.4 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 46
- Nalchik149.7 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 52
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Frequently asked
Questions about Cherkessk
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cherkessk right now?
The latest reading for Cherkessk shows an AQI of 23 (Good), observed Nov 11, 13:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Cherkessk today?
At AQI 23 (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 Cherkessk been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cherkessk's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 23 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Cherkessk lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cherkessk has lost about 127 hectares of forest (about 180 football pitches): 6.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for mining and energy. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cherkessk grew from about 2,040 hectares to 2,090 hectares, a net gain of about 53 hectares (+2.6%). New forest grew on about 212 hectares, while 159 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Cherkessk?
Cherkessk has an estimated 83,002 trees across the 12.53 km² of land measured — 26.5% tree cover, 3 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cherkessk need?
Cherkessk needs roughly 10,963 more trees to close a 3-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 241.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Cherkessk's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Cherkessk; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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