City report · Istanbul, Turkey
Sancaktepe Air quality today
Air quality in Sancaktepe currently reads AQI 78 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 78
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 23.8
- tree cover
- 9.2%
- trees in this area
- 28.9K
- more trees needed
- 65.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Anatolian Side, İstanbul, Türkiye (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Sancaktepe · AQI 78 (Moderate)
Sancaktepe's tree count comes to 28,903 trees across 12.57 km², 21 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 65,345 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Sancaktepe today: AQI 78, 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 · Istanbul Sultanbeyli, Turkey, 3.7 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
23.8
PM10
27.5
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Turkey National Air Quality Monitoring Network (Ulusal Hava Kalitesi İzleme Ağı)
- 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 Sancaktepe's daily AQI at 60 on average, from 24 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 152 on Nov 10.
Where Sancaktepe stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Sancaktepe: Critically low
9.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
28,903
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
65,345
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,438 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sancaktepe lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sancaktepe has lost about 2,730 hectares of forest (about 3,800 football pitches): 26% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 515 hectares (19%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,730 haabout 3,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 26%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 515 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 154 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 200 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2020, when about 383 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 | 8 ha | 28 ha | 36 ha |
| 2002 | 1 ha | 9 ha | 10 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | 9 ha | 13 ha |
| 2004 | 7 ha | 16 ha | 23 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | 7 ha | 4 ha | 10 ha |
| 2007 | 14 ha | 27 ha | 40 ha |
| 2008 | 8 ha | 33 ha | 41 ha |
| 2009 | 33 ha | 27 ha | 61 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | 49 ha | 53 ha |
| 2011 | 16 ha | 57 ha | 73 ha |
| 2012 | 8 ha | 195 ha | 203 ha |
| 2013 | 107 ha | 91 ha | 198 ha |
| 2014 | 58 ha | 121 ha | 179 ha |
| 2015 | 8 ha | 10 ha | 17 ha |
| 2016 | 115 ha | 60 ha | 175 ha |
| 2017 | 28 ha | 147 ha | 175 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | 132 ha | 137 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | 126 ha | 130 ha |
| 2020 | 10 ha | 373 ha | 383 ha |
| 2021 | 29 ha | 281 ha | 310 ha |
| 2022 | 15 ha | 141 ha | 156 ha |
| 2023 | 13 ha | 134 ha | 147 ha |
| 2024 | 7 ha | 70 ha | 76 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 76 ha | 82 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Sancaktepe?
- Loggingcan grow back81% · 2,200 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good9.9% · 271 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good9% · 245 ha
Also: wildfires, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 12,500 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 11,500 ha
- Overall change
- −1,050 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sancaktepe shrank from about 12,500 hectares to 11,500 hectares, a net loss of about 1,050 hectares (−8.4%). New forest grew on about 421 hectares, but 1,470 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 Sancaktepe
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Istanbul23.7 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 76
- Gebze27.8 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 12%
- Air quality
- 78
- Bağcılar31.7 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 76
- Küçükçekmece38.7 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 73
- Başakşehir38.7 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 82
- Arnavutköy45.9 km
Turkey
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 87
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Frequently asked
Questions about Sancaktepe
What is the air quality (AQI) in Sancaktepe right now?
The latest reading for Sancaktepe shows an AQI of 78 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Istanbul Sultanbeyli, Turkey, 3.7 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Sancaktepe today?
At AQI 78 (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 Sancaktepe been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sancaktepe's daily AQI at 60 on average, from 24 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 152 on Nov 10. On 1 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Sancaktepe lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sancaktepe has lost about 2,730 hectares of forest (about 3,800 football pitches): 26% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 515 hectares (19%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 154 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 200 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sancaktepe shrank from about 12,500 hectares to 11,500 hectares, a net loss of about 1,050 hectares (−8.4%). New forest grew on about 421 hectares, but 1,470 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Sancaktepe?
Sancaktepe has an estimated 28,903 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 9.2% tree cover, 21 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Sancaktepe need?
Sancaktepe needs roughly 65,345 more trees to close a 21-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,438 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Sancaktepe's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Anatolian Side, 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 Anatolian Side; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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