City report · Bulgaria
Sofia Air quality today
Air quality in Sofia currently reads AQI 26 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 26
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.7
- tree cover
- 26.5%
- trees in this area
- 83.3K
- more trees needed
- 11.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Old City Center, София, Bulgaria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Sofia · AQI 26 (Good)
Sofia's tree count comes to 83,252 trees across 12.57 km², 3 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 10,996 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Sofia today: AQI 26, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · AMS Kopitoto, 9.4 km away · median of 6 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.7
PM10
27.9
NO₂
28.1
O₃
19.1
SO₂
14.5
CO
375.0
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Sofia's daily AQI at 82 on average, from 61 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 142 on Nov 8.
Where Sofia stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Sofia: Below target
26.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
83,252
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
10,996
CO₂ if planted / yr
241.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sofia lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sofia has lost about 77 hectares of forest (about 110 football pitches): 2.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (74%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 77 haabout 110 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 57 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2005, when about 8 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 | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2005 | 7 ha | 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2007 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2010 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2011 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Sofia?
- Towns and roadscleared for good70% · 53 ha
- Loggingcan grow back11% · 8 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good3.4% · 3 ha
Also: 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
- 6,350 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 6,470 ha
- Overall change
- +113 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sofia stayed about the same size, at about 6,470 hectares: new forest grew on about 178 hectares, and about 65 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 Sofia
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Niš134.9 km
Serbia
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 182
- Kumanovo146.2 km
North Macedonia
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 80
- Skopje174.0 km
North Macedonia
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 61
- Pristina176.3 km
Kosovo
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 75
- Ferizaj181.4 km
Kosovo
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 88
Also compared:Sofia vs VarnaSofia vs Burgas
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Frequently asked
Questions about Sofia
What is the air quality (AQI) in Sofia right now?
The latest reading for Sofia shows an AQI of 26 (Good), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by 6 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is AMS Kopitoto, 9.4 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Sofia today?
At AQI 26 (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 Sofia been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sofia's daily AQI at 82 on average, from 61 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 142 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Sofia lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sofia has lost about 77 hectares of forest (about 110 football pitches): 2.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (74%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sofia stayed about the same size, at about 6,470 hectares: new forest grew on about 178 hectares, and about 65 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Sofia?
Sofia has an estimated 83,252 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 26.5% tree cover, 3 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Sofia need?
Sofia needs roughly 10,996 more trees to close a 3-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 241.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Sofia's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Old City Center, 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 Old City Center; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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