City report · Latvia
Jelgava Air quality today
Air quality in Jelgava currently reads AQI 152 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
AQI 152
Air quality right now
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 56.3
- tree cover
- 22.2%
- trees in this area
- 68.8K
- more trees needed
- 55.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Jelgava, Latvia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Jelgava · AQI 152 (Unhealthy)
Jelgava's tree count comes to 68,837 trees across 12.41 km² of land, 18 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 55,193 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Jelgava today: AQI 152, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Jelgava, 1 km away
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
56.3
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient
- 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 Jelgava's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 22 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 10.
Where Jelgava stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Jelgava: Critically low
22.2% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.41 km² of land.
Trees in this area
68,837
Target trees
124,030
More trees needed
55,193
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,214 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Jelgava lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Jelgava has lost about 4,990 hectares of forest (about 7,000 football pitches): 32% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 45 hectares (under 1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 4,990 haabout 7,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 32%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 45 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 312 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 270 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 497 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 | 1 ha | 39 ha | 40 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 79 ha | 80 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 56 ha | 56 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 101 ha | 101 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 117 ha | 119 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 104 ha | 104 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | 214 ha | 216 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 146 ha | 148 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 170 ha | 170 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 182 ha | 182 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 252 ha | 252 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 176 ha | 176 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 239 ha | 240 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 135 ha | 135 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 68 ha | 68 ha |
| 2016 | 4 ha | 168 ha | 172 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | 116 ha | 118 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 216 ha | 217 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | 493 ha | 497 ha |
| 2020 | 6 ha | 339 ha | 344 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 173 ha | 173 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | 358 ha | 359 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 278 ha | 279 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 341 ha | 341 ha |
| 2025 | 17 ha | 390 ha | 407 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Jelgava?
- Loggingcan grow back99% · 4,930 ha
Also: towns and roads, 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
- 14,200 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 13,700 ha
- Overall change
- −476 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Jelgava shrank from about 14,200 hectares to 13,700 hectares, a net loss of about 476 hectares (−3.4%). New forest grew on about 1,090 hectares, but 1,570 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 Jelgava
What is the air quality (AQI) in Jelgava right now?
The latest reading for Jelgava shows an AQI of 152 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by the Jelgava ground monitoring station, 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 Jelgava today?
At AQI 152 (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 Jelgava been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Jelgava's daily AQI at 42 on average, from 22 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 80 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 Jelgava lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Jelgava has lost about 4,990 hectares of forest (about 7,000 football pitches): 32% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 45 hectares (under 1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 312 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 270 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Jelgava shrank from about 14,200 hectares to 13,700 hectares, a net loss of about 476 hectares (−3.4%). New forest grew on about 1,090 hectares, but 1,570 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Jelgava?
Jelgava has an estimated 68,837 trees across the 12.41 km² of land measured — 22.2% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Jelgava need?
Jelgava needs roughly 55,193 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 1,214 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Jelgava's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Jelgava, 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 Jelgava; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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