City report · Mongolia
Ulan Bator Air quality today
Air quality in Ulan Bator currently reads AQI 188 (Unhealthy): Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Air quality right now
AQI 188
Unhealthy
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 107.8
- tree cover
- 3.7%
- trees in this area
- 11.6K
- more trees needed
- 114K
Measured across a 2 km radius around BGD - 1 khoroo, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Ulan Bator · AQI 188 (Unhealthy)
Ulan Bator's tree count comes to 11,624 trees across 12.57 km², 36 points below the 40% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 114,040 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Ulan Bator today: AQI 188, Unhealthy
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 22:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Bumbugur, 1.8 km away
Health signal
Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
PM2.5
107.8
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Andy
- Outdoor exercise
- Everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it
- Windows
- Keep them closed
- Mask
- Wear an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Ulan Bator's daily AQI at 114 on average, from 68 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 193 on Nov 8.
Where Ulan Bator stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Ulan Bator: Critically low
3.7% tree cover against a 40% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
11,624
Target trees
125,664
More trees needed
114,040
CO₂ if planted / yr
2,509 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Ulan Bator lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Ulan Bator has lost about 559 hectares of forest (about 780 football pitches): 23% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. Almost none of it was deforestation, meaning forest cleared for good.
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 559 haabout 780 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 23%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- under 1 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 177 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Ulan Bator's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | under 1 ha | 26 ha | 26 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | 22 ha | 22 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | 151 ha | 151 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 126 ha | 126 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | 12 ha | 12 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 12 ha | 12 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 177 ha | 177 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 17 ha | 17 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 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 | 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 | 1 ha | 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 | 14 ha | 14 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Ulan Bator?
- Wildfirescan grow back97% · 543 ha
- Loggingcan grow back2.7% · 15 ha
Also: 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
- 4,090 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,100 ha
- Overall change
- +16 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Ulan Bator stayed about the same size, at about 4,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 110 hectares, and about 94 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 Ulan Bator
What is the air quality (AQI) in Ulan Bator right now?
The latest reading for Ulan Bator shows an AQI of 188 (Unhealthy), measured Nov 11, 22:00 local time by the Bumbugur ground monitoring station, 1.8 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Everyone should limit long outdoor exertion; sensitive groups more so.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Ulan Bator today?
At AQI 188 (Unhealthy): everyone should cut down long or hard exercise; sensitive groups should avoid it. Windows: keep them closed. Masks: wear an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Ulan Bator been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Ulan Bator's daily AQI at 114 on average, from 68 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 193 on Nov 8. On 5 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Ulan Bator lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Ulan Bator has lost about 559 hectares of forest (about 780 football pitches): 23% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. Almost none of it was deforestation, meaning forest cleared for good. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Ulan Bator stayed about the same size, at about 4,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 110 hectares, and about 94 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Ulan Bator?
Ulan Bator has an estimated 11,624 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 3.7% tree cover, 36 percentage points short of the 40% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Ulan Bator need?
Ulan Bator needs roughly 114,040 more trees to close a 36-point shortfall against its 40% tree-cover target — about 2,509 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Ulan Bator's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near BGD - 1 khoroo, 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 BGD - 1 khoroo; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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