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Airleaf

City report · Xinjiang, China

Shache Air quality today

Air quality in Shache currently reads AQI 126 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

Air quality right now

AQI 126

Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
37.4
tree cover
15.1%
trees in this area
47.4K
more trees needed
62.5K

Measured across a 2 km radius around Yarkant County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang, China (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 25, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Shache · AQI 126 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Sep 25, 2026

Shache's tree count comes to 47,438 trees across 12.57 km², 20 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 62,518 more trees would close the gap.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Shache today: AQI 126, Unhealthy for sensitive groups

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Model estimate · no ground station nearby

Health signal

Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

PM2.5

37.4

PM10

60.8

NO₂

21.1

O₃

16.0

SO₂

37.7

CO

755.0

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 Shache's daily AQI at 129 on average, from 107 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 171 on Nov 6.

Last 7 daysavg 129 · peak 171
Nov 5: AQI 150 (peak 167)Nov 6: AQI 161 (peak 171)Nov 7: AQI 124 (peak 153)Nov 8: AQI 110 (peak 154)Nov 9: AQI 118 (peak 141)Nov 10: AQI 107 (peak 135)Nov 11: AQI 130 (peak 138)
Nov 5Nov 11

Where Shache stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Shache: Critically low

15.1% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².

20 points below target

Trees in this area

47,438

Target trees

109,956

More trees needed

62,518

CO₂ if planted / yr

1,375 t

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Shache lost?

There was almost no forest around Shache in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here.

Satellite image of the area around Shache, July 2017

2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.

Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020

Forest in 2000
500 ha
Forest in 2020
715 ha
Overall change
+215 hamore forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Shache grew from about 500 hectares to 715 hectares, a net gain of about 215 hectares (+43%). New forest grew on about 217 hectares, while 2 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 Shache

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

  • Kashgar

    China

    159.4 km
    Tree cover
    10%
    Air quality
    180
  • Artux

    China

    170.3 km
    Tree cover
    8%
    Air quality
    74
  • Tumxuk

    China

    225.3 km
    Tree cover
    19%
    Air quality
    54
  • 277.8 km
    Tree cover
    10%
    Air quality
    82
  • Skardu

    Pakistan

    375.1 km
    Tree cover
    22%
    Air quality
    39
  • Gilgit

    Pakistan

    380.1 km
    Tree cover
    18%
    Air quality
    18

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Shache air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about Shache

What is the air quality (AQI) in Shache right now?

The latest reading for Shache shows an AQI of 126 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 11, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Shache today?

At AQI 126 (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 Shache been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Shache's daily AQI at 129 on average, from 107 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 171 on Nov 6. On 7 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.

How much forest has the area around Shache lost since 2001?

There was almost no forest around Shache in 2000, so there has been almost nothing to lose since. Only fairly dense woodland counts as forest in these maps, so scattered street and garden trees don't show up here. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Shache grew from about 500 hectares to 715 hectares, a net gain of about 215 hectares (+43%). New forest grew on about 217 hectares, while 2 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Shache?

Shache has an estimated 47,438 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 15.1% tree cover, 20 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Shache need?

Shache needs roughly 62,518 more trees to close a 20-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 1,375 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.

How are Shache'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 Yarkant County; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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