City report · Belarus
Minsk Air quality today
Air quality in Minsk currently reads AQI 51 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 51
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.9
- tree cover
- 26.7%
- trees in this area
- 83.2K
- more trees needed
- 10.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Lyeninski District, Minsk, Minsk Region, Belarus (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 9, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Minsk · AQI 51 (Moderate)
Minsk's tree count comes to 83,209 trees across 12.47 km² of land, 3 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 10,284 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Minsk today: AQI 51, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.9
PM10
12.0
NO₂
9.5
O₃
53.0
SO₂
2.7
CO
194.0
- 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 Minsk's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 20 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 9.
Where Minsk stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Minsk: Below target
26.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.47 km² of land.
Trees in this area
83,209
Target trees
93,493
More trees needed
10,284
CO₂ if planted / yr
226.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Minsk lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Minsk has lost about 296 hectares of forest (about 410 football pitches): 6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (77%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 296 haabout 410 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 228 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2025, when about 34 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 | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 10 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | 8 ha | 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2006 | 9 ha | 5 ha | 14 ha |
| 2007 | 12 ha | 2 ha | 14 ha |
| 2008 | 13 ha | 3 ha | 16 ha |
| 2009 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 10 ha |
| 2010 | 22 ha | 7 ha | 29 ha |
| 2011 | 16 ha | 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2012 | 19 ha | 2 ha | 21 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 7 ha | 2 ha | 9 ha |
| 2015 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2016 | 19 ha | 2 ha | 21 ha |
| 2017 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 4 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2023 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2024 | 12 ha | 3 ha | 15 ha |
| 2025 | 20 ha | 14 ha | 34 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Minsk?
- Towns and roadscleared for good77% · 227 ha
- Loggingcan grow back16% · 48 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown6.6% · 20 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
- 6,040 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,160 ha
- Overall change
- +129 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Minsk grew from about 6,040 hectares to 6,160 hectares, a net gain of about 129 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 467 hectares, while 339 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 Minsk
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Baranovichi133.8 km
Belarus
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 55
- Bobruysk136.9 km
Belarus
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 29
- Lida148.5 km
Belarus
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 53
- Vilnius172.4 km
Lithuania
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 79
- Mahilyow181.7 km
Belarus
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 31
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Frequently asked
Questions about Minsk
What is the air quality (AQI) in Minsk right now?
The latest reading for Minsk shows an AQI of 51 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 16:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, 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 Minsk today?
At AQI 51 (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 Minsk been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Minsk's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 20 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Minsk lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Minsk has lost about 296 hectares of forest (about 410 football pitches): 6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (77%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Minsk grew from about 6,040 hectares to 6,160 hectares, a net gain of about 129 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 467 hectares, while 339 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Minsk?
Minsk has an estimated 83,209 trees across the 12.47 km² of land measured — 26.7% tree cover, 3 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Minsk need?
Minsk needs roughly 10,284 more trees to close a 3-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 226.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Minsk'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 Lyeninski District; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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