City report · Lesser Poland, Poland
Kraków Air quality today
Air quality in Kraków currently reads AQI 52 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 52
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.4
- tree cover
- 31.0%
- trees in this area
- 93.7K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Kraków Old Town, Kraków, Poland (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Kraków · AQI 52 (Moderate)
Kraków's tree count comes to 93,689 trees across 12.09 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Kraków today: AQI 52, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Kraków, ul. Bulwarowa, 8.4 km away · median of 5 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.4
PM10
13.8
NO₂
17.5
O₃
—
SO₂
6.8
CO
405.0
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Kraków's daily AQI at 139 on average, from 90 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 205 on Nov 9.
Where Kraków stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Kraków: Healthy tree cover
31.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.09 km² of land.
Trees in this area
93,689
Target trees
93,689
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Kraków lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kraków has lost about 90 hectares of forest (about 130 football pitches): 1.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) 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
- 90 haabout 130 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 55 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2022, when about 9 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 | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2011 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2013 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2014 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | 4 ha | 5 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2021 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2023 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Kraków?
- Towns and roadscleared for good62% · 56 ha
- Loggingcan grow back14% · 13 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown24% · 22 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
- 12,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 12,900 ha
- Overall change
- +497 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kraków grew from about 12,400 hectares to 12,900 hectares, a net gain of about 497 hectares (+4%). New forest grew on about 644 hectares, while 147 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 Kraków
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Dąbrowa Górnicza60.3 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 115
- Katowice68.8 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 115
- Bielsko-Biala69.0 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 84
- Tychy69.7 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 115
- Tarnów75.2 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 39
- Bytom78.2 km
Poland
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 101
Also compared:Kraków vs WarsawKraków vs WrocławKraków vs ŁódźKraków vs Poznań
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Frequently asked
Questions about Kraków
What is the air quality (AQI) in Kraków right now?
The latest reading for Kraków shows an AQI of 52 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 5 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Kraków, ul. Bulwarowa, 8.4 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Kraków today?
At AQI 52 (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 Kraków been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Kraków's daily AQI at 139 on average, from 90 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 205 on Nov 9. On 6 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Kraków lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Kraków has lost about 90 hectares of forest (about 130 football pitches): 1.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (61%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Kraków grew from about 12,400 hectares to 12,900 hectares, a net gain of about 497 hectares (+4%). New forest grew on about 644 hectares, while 147 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Kraków?
Kraków has an estimated 93,689 trees across the 12.09 km² of land measured — 31.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Kraków need?
Kraków has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Kraków's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Kraków Old Town, 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 Kraków Old Town; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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