City report · Kazakhstan
Semey Air quality today
Air quality in Semey currently reads AQI 6 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 6
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 1.0
- tree cover
- 12.5%
- trees in this area
- 38.7K
- more trees needed
- 54.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around 070000 Semey, Kazakhstan (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Semey · AQI 6 (Good)
Semey's tree count comes to 38,681 trees across 12.38 km² of land, 18 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 54,153 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Semey today: AQI 6, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
1.0
PM10
1.0
NO₂
3.1
O₃
43.0
SO₂
5.3
CO
167.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Semey's daily AQI at 31 on average, from 19 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 79 on Nov 4.
Where Semey stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Semey: Critically low
12.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.38 km² of land.
Trees in this area
38,681
Target trees
92,834
More trees needed
54,153
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,191 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Semey lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Semey has lost about 4 hectares of forest (about 6 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. Almost none of it was deforestation, meaning forest cleared for good.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 4 haabout 6 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- under 1 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2018, when about 1 hectare 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Semey?
- Loggingcan grow back57% · 2 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good14% · under 1 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown29% · 1 ha
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
- 4,850 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,870 ha
- Overall change
- +21 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Semey stayed about the same size, at about 4,870 hectares: new forest grew on about 43 hectares, and about 21 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 Semey
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Rubtsovsk138.9 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 5
- Ust-Kamenogorsk175.0 km
Kazakhstan
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 11
- Pavlodar307.4 km
Kazakhstan
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 9
- Ekibastuz373.4 km
Kazakhstan
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 85
- Barnaul404.8 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 10
- Biysk415.3 km
Russia
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 6
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Frequently asked
Questions about Semey
What is the air quality (AQI) in Semey right now?
The latest reading for Semey shows an AQI of 6 (Good), observed Nov 10, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Semey today?
At AQI 6 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Semey been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Semey's daily AQI at 31 on average, from 19 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 79 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Semey lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Semey has lost about 4 hectares of forest (about 6 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. Almost none of it was deforestation, meaning forest cleared for good. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Semey stayed about the same size, at about 4,870 hectares: new forest grew on about 43 hectares, and about 21 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Semey?
Semey has an estimated 38,681 trees across the 12.38 km² of land measured — 12.5% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Semey need?
Semey needs roughly 54,153 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,191 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Semey'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 070000 Semey; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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