City report · Kazakhstan
Shymkent Air quality today
Air quality in Shymkent currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 53
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.6
- tree cover
- 22.8%
- trees in this area
- 71.6K
- more trees needed
- 22.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Al-Farabi District, Kazakhstan (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Shymkent · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Shymkent's tree count comes to 71,628 trees across 12.57 km², 7 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 22,619 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Shymkent today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 04:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Tashkent and Khujand
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.6
PM10
4.1
NO₂
3.3
O₃
42.0
SO₂
5.6
CO
142.0
- 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 Shymkent's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 23 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 120 on Nov 5.
Where Shymkent stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Shymkent: Below target
22.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
71,628
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
22,619
CO₂ if planted / yr
497.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Shymkent lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Shymkent has lost about 19 hectares of forest (about 27 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (79%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 19 haabout 27 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 12%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 15 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 6 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 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 | under 1 ha | under 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 Shymkent?
- Towns and roadscleared for good79% · 15 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown21% · 4 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
- 113 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 190 ha
- Overall change
- +77 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Shymkent grew from about 113 hectares to 190 hectares, a net gain of about 77 hectares (+68%). New forest grew on about 86 hectares, while 10 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 Shymkent
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Chirchiq93.5 km
Uzbekistan
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 42
- Tashkent120.5 km
Uzbekistan
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 37
- Angren150.7 km
Uzbekistan
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 16
- Turkistan154.9 km
Kazakhstan
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 6
- Olmaliq162.9 km
Uzbekistan
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 51
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Frequently asked
Questions about Shymkent
What is the air quality (AQI) in Shymkent right now?
The latest reading for Shymkent shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 04:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Shymkent today?
At AQI 53 (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 Shymkent been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Shymkent's daily AQI at 55 on average, from 23 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 120 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Shymkent lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Shymkent has lost about 19 hectares of forest (about 27 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (79%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Shymkent grew from about 113 hectares to 190 hectares, a net gain of about 77 hectares (+68%). New forest grew on about 86 hectares, while 10 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Shymkent?
Shymkent has an estimated 71,628 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 22.8% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Shymkent need?
Shymkent needs roughly 22,619 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 497.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Shymkent'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 Al-Farabi District; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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