City report · Kosovo
Pristina Air quality today
Air quality in Pristina currently reads AQI 118 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 118
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 42.3
- tree cover
- 11.0%
- trees in this area
- 34.6K
- more trees needed
- 75.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Pristina, Republic of Kosovo (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Pristina · AQI 118 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Pristina's tree count comes to 34,558 trees across 12.57 km², 24 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 75,398 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Pristina today: AQI 118, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 19:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Rruga Abdullah Boyku, 1.3 km away
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
42.3
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, mountainsandwaves
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Pristina's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 64 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 147 on Nov 9.
Where Pristina stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Pristina: Critically low
11.0% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
34,558
Target trees
109,956
More trees needed
75,398
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,659 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Pristina lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pristina has lost about 449 hectares of forest (about 630 football pitches): 5.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 60 hectares (13%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 449 haabout 630 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 60 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2023, when about 56 hectares of forest were lost.
Pristina's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 ha | 5 ha | 6 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 7 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 6 ha |
| 2007 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 8 ha |
| 2009 | 5 ha | 6 ha | 10 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | 9 ha | 10 ha |
| 2012 | 3 ha | 13 ha | 16 ha |
| 2013 | 6 ha | 7 ha | 12 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | 19 ha | 23 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | 17 ha | 17 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | 34 ha | 37 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | 10 ha | 12 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 9 ha | 9 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | 35 ha | 39 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | 36 ha | 38 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | 18 ha | 20 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | 26 ha | 28 ha |
| 2023 | 8 ha | 48 ha | 56 ha |
| 2024 | 7 ha | 15 ha | 22 ha |
| 2025 | 8 ha | 41 ha | 49 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Pristina?
- Loggingcan grow back85% · 382 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8.3% · 37 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good2.7% · 12 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 8,670 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,530 ha
- Overall change
- −140 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pristina stayed about the same size, at about 8,530 hectares: new forest grew on about 112 hectares, and about 251 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Pristina
What is the air quality (AQI) in Pristina right now?
The latest reading for Pristina shows an AQI of 118 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 19:00 local time by the Rruga Abdullah Boyku ground monitoring station, 1.3 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Pristina today?
At AQI 118 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Pristina been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Pristina's daily AQI at 83 on average, from 64 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 147 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 Pristina lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pristina has lost about 449 hectares of forest (about 630 football pitches): 5.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 60 hectares (13%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pristina stayed about the same size, at about 8,530 hectares: new forest grew on about 112 hectares, and about 251 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Pristina?
Pristina has an estimated 34,558 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 11.0% tree cover, 24 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Pristina need?
Pristina needs roughly 75,398 more trees to close a 24-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 1,659 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Pristina's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Pristina, 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 Pristina; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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