City report · Serbia
Niš Air quality today
Air quality in Niš currently reads AQI 69 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 69
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 18.7
- tree cover
- 20.5%
- trees in this area
- 64.4K
- more trees needed
- 29.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Crveni pevac, Niš, Serbia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 19, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Niš · AQI 69 (Moderate)
Niš's tree count comes to 64,403 trees across 12.57 km², 10 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 29,845 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Niš today: AQI 69, 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 · Nis-Osnovna skola Sveti Sava, 1.3 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
18.7
PM10
24.1
NO₂
22.4
O₃
38.5
SO₂
7.6
CO
505.7
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 Niš's daily AQI at 81 on average, from 58 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 140 on Nov 5.
Where Niš stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Niš: Below target
20.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
64,403
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
29,845
CO₂ if planted / yr
656.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Niš lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Niš has lost about 58 hectares of forest (about 81 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 12 hectares (21%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 58 haabout 81 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 12 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 14 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 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 | 1 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | 12 ha | 14 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Niš?
- Loggingcan grow back58% · 34 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good19% · 11 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1% · under 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
- 8,020 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,100 ha
- Overall change
- +73 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Niš stayed about the same size, at about 8,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 108 hectares, and about 35 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 Niš
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Pristina94.0 km
Kosovo
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 75
- Mitrovicë97.4 km
Kosovo
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 91
- Ferizaj122.4 km
Kosovo
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 79
- Kumanovo133.4 km
North Macedonia
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 61
- Sofia134.9 km
Bulgaria
- Tree cover
- 27%
- Air quality
- 58
Also compared:Niš vs BelgradeNiš vs Novi Sad
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Frequently asked
Questions about Niš
What is the air quality (AQI) in Niš right now?
The latest reading for Niš shows an AQI of 69 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Nis-Osnovna skola Sveti Sava, 1.3 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Niš today?
At AQI 69 (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 Niš been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Niš's daily AQI at 81 on average, from 58 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 140 on Nov 5. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Niš lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Niš has lost about 58 hectares of forest (about 81 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 12 hectares (21%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Niš stayed about the same size, at about 8,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 108 hectares, and about 35 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Niš?
Niš has an estimated 64,403 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 20.5% tree cover, 10 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Niš need?
Niš needs roughly 29,845 more trees to close a 10-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 656.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Niš's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Crveni pevac, 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 Crveni pevac; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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