City report · Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul Air quality today
Air quality in Istanbul currently reads AQI 76 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 76
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 22.6
- tree cover
- 9.2%
- trees in this area
- 25.1K
- more trees needed
- 56.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around European Side, İstanbul, Türkiye (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Istanbul · AQI 76 (Moderate)
Istanbul's tree count comes to 25,145 trees across 10.94 km² of land, 21 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 56,850 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Istanbul today: AQI 76, Moderate
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 · Istanbul (Aksaray), Turkey, 400 m away · median of 8 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
22.6
PM10
33.5
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Turkey National Air Quality Monitoring Network (Ulusal Hava Kalitesi İzleme Ağı)
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Istanbul's daily AQI at 78 on average, from 48 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 194 on Nov 9.
Where Istanbul stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Istanbul: Critically low
9.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.94 km² of land.
Trees in this area
25,145
Target trees
81,995
More trees needed
56,850
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,251 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Istanbul lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Istanbul has lost about 31 hectares of forest (about 43 football pitches): 9.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (83%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 31 haabout 43 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 9.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 26 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2019, when about 6 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 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2017 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Istanbul?
- Towns and roadscleared for good83% · 26 ha
- Loggingcan grow back9.7% · 3 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown7.1% · 2 ha
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
- 1,320 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,520 ha
- Overall change
- +206 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Istanbul grew from about 1,320 hectares to 1,520 hectares, a net gain of about 206 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 234 hectares, while 28 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 Istanbul
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Umraniye14.7 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 79
- Küçükçekmece15.2 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 73
- Başakşehir16.8 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 82
- Maltepe19.3 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 74
- Esenyurt22.9 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 70
- Sancaktepe23.7 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 78
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Frequently asked
Questions about Istanbul
What is the air quality (AQI) in Istanbul right now?
The latest reading for Istanbul shows an AQI of 76 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 8 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Istanbul (Aksaray), Turkey, 400 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Istanbul today?
At AQI 76 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Istanbul been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Istanbul's daily AQI at 78 on average, from 48 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 194 on Nov 9. On 2 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Istanbul lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Istanbul has lost about 31 hectares of forest (about 43 football pitches): 9.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (83%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Istanbul grew from about 1,320 hectares to 1,520 hectares, a net gain of about 206 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 234 hectares, while 28 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Istanbul?
Istanbul has an estimated 25,145 trees across the 10.94 km² of land measured — 9.2% tree cover, 21 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Istanbul need?
Istanbul needs roughly 56,850 more trees to close a 21-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,251 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Istanbul's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near European Side, 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 European Side; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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