City report · Moscow, Russia
Moscow Air quality today
Air quality in Moscow 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)
- 9.1
- tree cover
- 15.4%
- trees in this area
- 44.8K
- more trees needed
- 42.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Moscow Kremlin, Moscow, Russia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 10, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Moscow · AQI 51 (Moderate)
Moscow's tree count comes to 44,849 trees across 11.65 km² of land, 15 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 42,519 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Moscow today: AQI 51, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Suhar, Moscow, Moscow, Russia (Сухаревка, Москва), 2.5 km away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.1
PM10
24.3
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Moscow State environmental monitoring (Государственный экологический мониторинг в Москве)
- 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 Moscow's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 74 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 156 on Nov 10.
Where Moscow stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Moscow: Critically low
15.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 11.65 km² of land.
Trees in this area
44,849
Target trees
87,368
More trees needed
42,519
CO₂ if planted / yr
935.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Moscow lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Moscow has lost about 243 hectares of forest (about 340 football pitches): 4.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 243 haabout 340 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 231 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2018, when about 24 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 | 11 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2002 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2005 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2006 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2007 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2008 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2009 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2010 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2012 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2017 | 18 ha | 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2018 | 22 ha | 2 ha | 24 ha |
| 2019 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2020 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2021 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2022 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2023 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2024 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2025 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Moscow?
- Towns and roadscleared for good95% · 231 ha
- Loggingcan grow back1.2% · 3 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown3.6% · 9 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
- 4,730 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,700 ha
- Overall change
- −23 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Moscow stayed about the same size, at about 4,700 hectares: new forest grew on about 371 hectares, and about 394 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 Moscow
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Mytishchi19.0 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 53
- Lyubertsy19.2 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 28
- Khimki20.3 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 53
- Balashikha21.2 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 60%
- Air quality
- 23
- Odintsovo23.2 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 81
- Shchyolkovo29.3 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 23
Also compared:Moscow vs Saint PetersburgMoscow vs NovosibirskMoscow vs YekaterinburgMoscow vs Nizhniy Novgorod
Build your own
Compare Moscow with anywhere
This place
Moscow
Use this data
Put Moscow's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Moscow
What is the air quality (AQI) in Moscow right now?
The latest reading for Moscow shows an AQI of 51 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Suhar, Moscow, Moscow, Russia (Сухаревка, Москва), 2.5 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Moscow 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 Moscow been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Moscow's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 74 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 156 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 Moscow lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Moscow has lost about 243 hectares of forest (about 340 football pitches): 4.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Moscow stayed about the same size, at about 4,700 hectares: new forest grew on about 371 hectares, and about 394 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Moscow?
Moscow has an estimated 44,849 trees across the 11.65 km² of land measured — 15.4% tree cover, 15 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Moscow need?
Moscow needs roughly 42,519 more trees to close a 15-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 935.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Moscow's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Moscow Kremlin, 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 Moscow Kremlin; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address