City report · Silesia, Poland
Katowice Air quality today
Air quality in Katowice currently reads AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 115
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 41.2
- tree cover
- 27.3%
- trees in this area
- 85.0K
- more trees needed
- 24.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Katowice, Poland (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Katowice · AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Katowice's tree count comes to 84,994 trees across 12.46 km² of land, 8 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 23,973 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Katowice today: AQI 115, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Katowice, Zawodzie, 2.8 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
41.2
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
55.1
SO₂
6.8
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, EEA
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Katowice's daily AQI at 140 on average, from 95 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 219 on Nov 7.
Where Katowice stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Katowice: Below target
27.3% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.46 km² of land.
Trees in this area
84,994
Target trees
108,967
More trees needed
23,973
CO₂ if planted / yr
527.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Katowice lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Katowice has lost about 903 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 7.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 302 hectares (33%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 903 haabout 1,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 7.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 302 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2002, when about 89 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 | 6 ha | 13 ha | 19 ha |
| 2002 | 21 ha | 68 ha | 89 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | 16 ha | 18 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2005 | 16 ha | 35 ha | 50 ha |
| 2006 | 16 ha | 2 ha | 19 ha |
| 2007 | 13 ha | 6 ha | 19 ha |
| 2008 | 17 ha | 13 ha | 29 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | 21 ha | 8 ha | 29 ha |
| 2011 | 11 ha | 9 ha | 20 ha |
| 2012 | 7 ha | 19 ha | 25 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | 15 ha | 18 ha |
| 2014 | 9 ha | 41 ha | 50 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | 15 ha | 19 ha |
| 2016 | 15 ha | 42 ha | 56 ha |
| 2017 | 18 ha | 36 ha | 55 ha |
| 2018 | 21 ha | 26 ha | 47 ha |
| 2019 | 15 ha | 27 ha | 42 ha |
| 2020 | 13 ha | 30 ha | 43 ha |
| 2021 | 10 ha | 66 ha | 76 ha |
| 2022 | 17 ha | 47 ha | 65 ha |
| 2023 | 9 ha | 31 ha | 40 ha |
| 2024 | 21 ha | 21 ha | 42 ha |
| 2025 | 9 ha | 13 ha | 22 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Katowice?
- Loggingcan grow back65% · 590 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good33% · 302 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown1.2% · 11 ha
Also: mining and energy.
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
- 18,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 19,000 ha
- Overall change
- +119 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Katowice stayed about the same size, at about 19,000 hectares: new forest grew on about 510 hectares, and about 391 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 Katowice
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Tychy14.2 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 115
- Dąbrowa Górnicza15.4 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 115
- Zabrze18.3 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 108
- Gliwice24.9 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 90
- Rybnik38.7 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 74
- Bielsko-Biala48.6 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 84
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Frequently asked
Questions about Katowice
What is the air quality (AQI) in Katowice right now?
The latest reading for Katowice shows an AQI of 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Katowice, Zawodzie, 2.8 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Katowice today?
At AQI 115 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Katowice been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Katowice's daily AQI at 140 on average, from 95 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 219 on Nov 7. On 6 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Katowice lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Katowice has lost about 903 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 7.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 302 hectares (33%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Katowice stayed about the same size, at about 19,000 hectares: new forest grew on about 510 hectares, and about 391 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Katowice?
Katowice has an estimated 84,994 trees across the 12.46 km² of land measured — 27.3% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Katowice need?
Katowice needs roughly 23,973 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 527.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Katowice's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Katowice, 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 Katowice; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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