City report · North Macedonia
Skopje Air quality today
Air quality in Skopje currently reads AQI 61 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 61
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 14.3
- tree cover
- 23.1%
- trees in this area
- 72.6K
- more trees needed
- 21.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Skopje, North Macedonia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Skopje · AQI 61 (Moderate)
Skopje's tree count comes to 72,571 trees across 12.57 km², 7 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 21,677 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Skopje today: AQI 61, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Miladinovci, 18.3 km away · median of 5 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
14.3
PM10
30.5
NO₂
29.5
O₃
29.6
SO₂
3.9
CO
288.8
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Skopje's daily AQI at 99 on average, from 79 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 152 on Nov 10.
Where Skopje stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Skopje: Below target
23.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
72,571
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
21,677
CO₂ if planted / yr
476.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Skopje lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Skopje has lost about 66 hectares of forest (about 93 football pitches): 3.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 18 hectares (27%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 66 haabout 93 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 18 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2019, when about 13 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 | 1 ha | 8 ha | 9 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 5 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 9 ha | 10 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 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 | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2014 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 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 | 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 6 ha | 7 ha | 13 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 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Skopje?
- Wildfirescan grow back51% · 34 ha
- Loggingcan grow back18% · 12 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good15% · 10 ha
Also: mining and energy, 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
- 3,470 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,520 ha
- Overall change
- +53 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Skopje stayed about the same size, at about 3,520 hectares: new forest grew on about 92 hectares, and about 40 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Skopje
What is the air quality (AQI) in Skopje right now?
The latest reading for Skopje shows an AQI of 61 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 5 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Miladinovci, 18.3 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Skopje today?
At AQI 61 (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 Skopje been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Skopje's daily AQI at 99 on average, from 79 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 152 on Nov 10. On 3 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Skopje lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Skopje has lost about 66 hectares of forest (about 93 football pitches): 3.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 18 hectares (27%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Skopje stayed about the same size, at about 3,520 hectares: new forest grew on about 92 hectares, and about 40 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Skopje?
Skopje has an estimated 72,571 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 23.1% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Skopje need?
Skopje needs roughly 21,677 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 476.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Skopje's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Skopje, 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 Skopje; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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