City report · Bulgaria
Stara Zagora Air quality today
Air quality in Stara Zagora currently reads AQI 134 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 134
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 48.8
- tree cover
- 35.0%
- trees in this area
- 110K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Orbita, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Stara Zagora · AQI 134 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Stara Zagora's tree count comes to 109,736 trees across 12.54 km² of land, already at or above the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Stara Zagora today: AQI 134, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 18:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Stara Zagora, Kiril I Metodiy, 700 m away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
48.8
PM10
34.1
NO₂
20.5
O₃
—
SO₂
11.2
CO
400.0
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, EEA
- 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 Stara Zagora's daily AQI at 54 on average, from 30 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 84 on Nov 9.
Where Stara Zagora stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Stara Zagora: Healthy tree cover
35.0% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.54 km² of land.
Trees in this area
109,736
Target trees
109,736
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Stara Zagora lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Stara Zagora has lost about 467 hectares of forest (about 650 football pitches): 5.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 14 hectares (2.9%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 467 haabout 650 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 14 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 75 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | 33 ha | 33 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 16 ha | 16 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 8 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 20 ha | 20 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 8 ha | 8 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 15 ha | 15 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 75 ha | 75 ha |
| 2008 | 8 ha | 61 ha | 69 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 20 ha | 20 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 10 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | 12 ha | 12 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 7 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | 15 ha | 15 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | 4 ha | 7 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | 10 ha | 10 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | 21 ha | 21 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 3 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | 62 ha | 62 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 46 ha | 46 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Stara Zagora?
- Loggingcan grow back53% · 248 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back42% · 197 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.7% · 8 ha
Also: towns and roads, 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
- 8,780 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,730 ha
- Overall change
- −56 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Stara Zagora stayed about the same size, at about 8,730 hectares: new forest grew on about 131 hectares, and about 187 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 Stara Zagora
What is the air quality (AQI) in Stara Zagora right now?
The latest reading for Stara Zagora shows an AQI of 134 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 18:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Stara Zagora, Kiril I Metodiy, 700 m away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Stara Zagora today?
At AQI 134 (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 Stara Zagora been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Stara Zagora's daily AQI at 54 on average, from 30 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 84 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Stara Zagora lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Stara Zagora has lost about 467 hectares of forest (about 650 football pitches): 5.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 14 hectares (2.9%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Stara Zagora stayed about the same size, at about 8,730 hectares: new forest grew on about 131 hectares, and about 187 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Stara Zagora?
Stara Zagora has an estimated 109,736 trees across the 12.54 km² of land measured — 35.0% tree cover, already past the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Stara Zagora need?
Stara Zagora has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Stara Zagora's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Orbita, 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 Orbita; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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