City report · Kyrgyzstan
Karakol Air quality today
Air quality in Karakol currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 55
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.8
- tree cover
- 12.3%
- trees in this area
- 38.6K
- more trees needed
- 55.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Karakol, Kyrgyzstan (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Karakol · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Karakol's tree count comes to 38,642 trees across 12.57 km², 18 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 55,606 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Karakol today: AQI 55, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 225 km, e.g. Almaty and Aksu Prefecture
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.8
PM10
12.1
NO₂
0.5
O₃
88.0
SO₂
1.3
CO
144.0
- 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 Karakol's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 17 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 53 on Nov 5.
Where Karakol stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Karakol: Critically low
12.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
38,642
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
55,606
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,223 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Karakol lost?
Almost no forest has been lost around Karakol since 2001: less than 1 hectare of the 1,090 hectares there in 2000.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 1,220 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,330 ha
- Overall change
- +118 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Karakol grew from about 1,220 hectares to 1,330 hectares, a net gain of about 118 hectares (+9.7%). New forest grew on about 123 hectares, while 4 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 Karakol
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Aqsu213.4 km
China
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 209
- Huocheng265.5 km
China
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 68
- Taldykorgan280.8 km
Kazakhstan
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 28
- Ghulja285.4 km
China
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 33
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Frequently asked
Questions about Karakol
What is the air quality (AQI) in Karakol right now?
The latest reading for Karakol shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 225 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Karakol today?
At AQI 55 (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 Karakol been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Karakol's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 17 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 53 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Karakol lost since 2001?
Almost no forest has been lost around Karakol since 2001: less than 1 hectare of the 1,090 hectares there in 2000. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Karakol grew from about 1,220 hectares to 1,330 hectares, a net gain of about 118 hectares (+9.7%). New forest grew on about 123 hectares, while 4 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Karakol?
Karakol has an estimated 38,642 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 12.3% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Karakol need?
Karakol needs roughly 55,606 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,223 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Karakol'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 Karakol; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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