Turkey · Istanbul · 9 cities
Air quality in Istanbul today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Esenyurt has the cleanest air of the 9 cities we track in Istanbul (AQI 70, Moderate), and Arnavutköy the worst (AQI 87, Moderate). Arnavutköy has the most tree cover, at 32.8% — #9 of 95 cities measured in Turkey.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
AQI 78
Average right now
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 9
- average tree cover
- 14.2%
- Turkey: 14.2%
- worst air now: Arnavutköy
- 87
- cleanest air now: Esenyurt
- 70
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Istanbul · average AQI 78
Air quality today across Istanbul, city by city
| Istanbul | 76Moderate | 9.2% | 56.9K | #57 of 95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Esenyurt | 70Moderate | 5.0% | 78.5K | #81 of 95 |
| Küçükçekmece | 73Moderate | 15.1% | 27.5K | #25 of 95 |
| Bağcılar | 79Moderate | 5.6% | 76.7K | #78 of 95 |
| Umraniye | 78Moderate | 15.2% | 46.4K | #24 of 95 |
| Sancaktepe | 78Moderate | 9.2% | 65.3K | #56 of 95 |
| Maltepe | 77Moderate | 26.6% | 10.6K | #12 of 95 |
| Arnavutköy | 87Moderate | 32.8% | — | #9 of 95 |
| Başakşehir | 86Moderate | 9.3% | 65.0K | #54 of 95 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in Turkey.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Istanbul lost?
Since 2001, Istanbul has lost about 33,100 hectares of forest (about 46,000 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 9,570 hectares (29%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 33,100 haabout 46,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 16%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 9,570 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 175 ha | 2,200 ha | 2,380 ha |
| 2002 | 154 ha | 2,280 ha | 2,440 ha |
| 2003 | 107 ha | 1,860 ha | 1,960 ha |
| 2004 | 345 ha | 2,070 ha | 2,420 ha |
| 2005 | 158 ha | 1,500 ha | 1,660 ha |
| 2006 | 162 ha | 1,490 ha | 1,650 ha |
| 2007 | 164 ha | 192 ha | 356 ha |
| 2008 | 187 ha | 146 ha | 333 ha |
| 2009 | 225 ha | 218 ha | 443 ha |
| 2010 | 97 ha | 304 ha | 401 ha |
| 2011 | 156 ha | 481 ha | 637 ha |
| 2012 | 325 ha | 1,060 ha | 1,380 ha |
| 2013 | 722 ha | 609 ha | 1,330 ha |
| 2014 | 851 ha | 1,010 ha | 1,860 ha |
| 2015 | 1,530 ha | 627 ha | 2,160 ha |
| 2016 | 1,000 ha | 469 ha | 1,470 ha |
| 2017 | 882 ha | 917 ha | 1,800 ha |
| 2018 | 468 ha | 976 ha | 1,440 ha |
| 2019 | 226 ha | 671 ha | 897 ha |
| 2020 | 276 ha | 1,170 ha | 1,450 ha |
| 2021 | 332 ha | 1,130 ha | 1,460 ha |
| 2022 | 279 ha | 549 ha | 828 ha |
| 2023 | 276 ha | 645 ha | 921 ha |
| 2024 | 179 ha | 454 ha | 633 ha |
| 2025 | 287 ha | 513 ha | 800 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 928 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 1,410 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2002, when about 2,440 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Istanbul?
- Loggingcan grow back70% · 23,200 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good23% · 7,550 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good5.7% · 1,900 ha
Also: wildfires, farms, pasture and plantations, storms, floods and other natural causes, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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