City report · Russia
Nalchik Air quality today
Air quality in Nalchik currently reads AQI 57 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 57
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.5
- tree cover
- 18.3%
- trees in this area
- 57.3K
- more trees needed
- 36.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 10, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Nalchik · AQI 57 (Moderate)
Nalchik's tree count comes to 57,319 trees across 12.53 km² of land, 12 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 36,646 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Nalchik today: AQI 57, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 06:00 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. Kutaisi and Tbilisi
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.5
PM10
7.1
NO₂
7.7
O₃
60.0
SO₂
4.0
CO
145.0
- 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 Nalchik's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 36 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 69 on Nov 5.
Where Nalchik stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Nalchik: Below target
18.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.53 km² of land.
Trees in this area
57,319
Target trees
93,965
More trees needed
36,646
CO₂ if planted / yr
806.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Nalchik lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Nalchik has lost about 46 hectares of forest (about 65 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (79%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 46 haabout 65 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 36 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2021, when about 6 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2021 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2023 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Nalchik?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good52% · 24 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good27% · 12 ha
- Loggingcan grow back2.8% · 1 ha
Also: unknown causes.
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
- 9,230 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,210 ha
- Overall change
- −22 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Nalchik stayed about the same size, at about 9,210 hectares: new forest grew on about 144 hectares, and about 166 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 Nalchik
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Pyatigorsk76.5 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 28
- Kislovodsk85.7 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 47%
- Air quality
- 36
- Nazran98.1 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 54
- Vladikavkaz99.1 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 84
- Cherkessk149.7 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 23
- Kutaisi156.1 km
Georgia
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 40
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Frequently asked
Questions about Nalchik
What is the air quality (AQI) in Nalchik right now?
The latest reading for Nalchik shows an AQI of 57 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 06:00 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 Nalchik today?
At AQI 57 (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 Nalchik been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Nalchik's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 36 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 69 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 Nalchik lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Nalchik has lost about 46 hectares of forest (about 65 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (79%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Nalchik stayed about the same size, at about 9,210 hectares: new forest grew on about 144 hectares, and about 166 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Nalchik?
Nalchik has an estimated 57,319 trees across the 12.53 km² of land measured — 18.3% tree cover, 12 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Nalchik need?
Nalchik needs roughly 36,646 more trees to close a 12-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 806.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Nalchik'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 Nalchik; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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