City report · Estonia
Tartu Air quality today
Air quality in Tartu currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 55
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.2
- tree cover
- 41.4%
- trees in this area
- 128K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Tartu, Estonia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Tartu · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Tartu's tree count comes to 127,721 trees across 12.34 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Tartu today: AQI 55, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 17:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · "Tartu", 1.2 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
11.2
PM10
21.5
NO₂
17.2
O₃
—
SO₂
0.2
CO
355.0
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 Tartu's daily AQI at 35 on average, from 19 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 10.
Where Tartu stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Tartu: Healthy tree cover
41.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.34 km² of land.
Trees in this area
127,721
Target trees
127,721
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tartu lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tartu has lost about 2,110 hectares of forest (about 3,000 football pitches): 26% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 97 hectares (4.6%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,110 haabout 3,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 26%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 97 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 104 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 144 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 270 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 | 95 ha | 96 ha |
| 2002 | 4 ha | 44 ha | 48 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 12 ha | 13 ha |
| 2004 | 2 ha | 38 ha | 39 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | 53 ha | 56 ha |
| 2006 | 7 ha | 58 ha | 65 ha |
| 2007 | 2 ha | 36 ha | 37 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 86 ha | 86 ha |
| 2009 | 1 ha | 57 ha | 58 ha |
| 2010 | 2 ha | 55 ha | 57 ha |
| 2011 | 6 ha | 106 ha | 112 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | 40 ha | 42 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | 33 ha | 35 ha |
| 2014 | 3 ha | 63 ha | 65 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | 69 ha | 70 ha |
| 2016 | 4 ha | 82 ha | 86 ha |
| 2017 | 4 ha | 105 ha | 108 ha |
| 2018 | 13 ha | 123 ha | 136 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | 263 ha | 270 ha |
| 2020 | 1 ha | 117 ha | 118 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | 116 ha | 118 ha |
| 2022 | 10 ha | 108 ha | 118 ha |
| 2023 | 5 ha | 108 ha | 113 ha |
| 2024 | 8 ha | 67 ha | 76 ha |
| 2025 | 9 ha | 84 ha | 93 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Tartu?
- Loggingcan grow back95% · 2,000 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good4.5% · 96 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, mining and energy, 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
- 7,060 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,160 ha
- Overall change
- +98 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tartu stayed about the same size, at about 7,160 hectares: new forest grew on about 1,210 hectares, and about 1,110 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 Tartu
What is the air quality (AQI) in Tartu right now?
The latest reading for Tartu shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 17:00 local time by the "Tartu" ground monitoring station, 1.2 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Tartu today?
At AQI 55 (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 Tartu been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tartu's daily AQI at 35 on average, from 19 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Tartu lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tartu has lost about 2,110 hectares of forest (about 3,000 football pitches): 26% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 97 hectares (4.6%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Forest loss is slowing down: about 104 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 144 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tartu stayed about the same size, at about 7,160 hectares: new forest grew on about 1,210 hectares, and about 1,110 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Tartu?
Tartu has an estimated 127,721 trees across the 12.34 km² of land measured — 41.4% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Tartu need?
Tartu has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Tartu's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Tartu, 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 Tartu; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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