Air quality comparison · Guatemala, 40 km apart
Coatepeque vs Quetzaltenango Air quality index (AQI) today
Coatepeque has cleaner air than Quetzaltenango right now: AQI 58 (Moderate) against 102 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 5 days, on modeled daily averages, Quetzaltenango averaged AQI 92 against 99, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Coatepeque has lost more forest since 2001. Coatepeque has more tree cover.
Guatemala
AQI 58
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 11.1 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 14:00 local
Guatemala
AQI 102
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 25.8 µg/m³1.7× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 12, 03:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Coatepeque58Quetzaltenango102
Head to head
Coatepeque vs Quetzaltenango at a glance
Coatepeque is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Quetzaltenango on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Coatepeque | Quetzaltenango | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 58 (better) | 102 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 11.1 (better) | 25.8 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 5 days. | 99 | 92 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 5,630 ha | 476 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 55.7% (better) | 5.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 91.7K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Coatepeque and Quetzaltenango right now?
Coatepeque has cleaner air than Quetzaltenango right now: AQI 58 (Moderate) against 102 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Quetzaltenango's PM2.5 is about 1.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
CoatepequeQuetzaltenango
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Coatepeque: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 145 km, e.g. San Juan Sacatepéquez and Guatemala City. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index.
Quetzaltenango: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 105 km, e.g. San Juan Sacatepéquez and Guatemala City. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 5 days?
But over the past 5 days, on modeled daily averages, Quetzaltenango averaged AQI 92 against 99, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Coatepeque2Quetzaltenango3
- Average AQI
- Coatepeque99Quetzaltenango92
- Worst day, AQI
- Coatepeque110Quetzaltenango103
The daily numbers (5 days)
| Day | Coatepeque | Quetzaltenango |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6 | 100 | 103 |
| Nov 7 | 110 | 92 |
| Nov 8 | 96 | 87 |
| Nov 9 | 100 | 87 |
| Nov 10 | 88 | 92 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Coatepeque and Quetzaltenango today?
Coatepeque (AQI 58, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Quetzaltenango (AQI 102, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- Coatepeque
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Quetzaltenango
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- Coatepeque
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Quetzaltenango
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- Coatepeque
- Not needed for most people.
- Quetzaltenango
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- Coatepeque
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Quetzaltenango
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do Coatepeque and Quetzaltenango compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Coatepeque's air is cleaner than 48% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Quetzaltenango's is cleaner than 21%. Within Guatemala, that is 43% and 7% of its 15 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Coatepeque
- Beats 48%
- Quetzaltenango
- Beats 21%
More tree cover than…
- Coatepeque
- Beats 95%
- Quetzaltenango
- Beats 12%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Coatepeque or Quetzaltenango?
Coatepeque has lost more: about 5,630 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 476 ha around Quetzaltenango. 5,400 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Measured within 10 km of each center, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: a wider circle than the one for tree cover, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Worst year: 2008, with 826 ha lost.
Worst year: 2008, with 87 ha lost.
| Coatepeque | Quetzaltenango | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 5,630 ha | 476 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 22% | 4% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 5,400 ha | 265 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Holding steady | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (94%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (25%) |
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Coatepeque
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 5 km southeast of the city center.
Quetzaltenango
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southwest of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Coatepeque or Quetzaltenango?
Coatepeque has more tree cover: 55.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 5.8% around Quetzaltenango, or about 174,987 trees against 18,221.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Coatepeque | Quetzaltenango | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 175K (better) | 18.2K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 91.7K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 3.8M kg (better) | 401K kg |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Coatepeque vs Quetzaltenango: your questions answered
Is Coatepeque cleaner than Quetzaltenango?
On air quality, yes, right now: Coatepeque reads AQI 58 against 102, a gap of 44 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 5 days, on modeled daily averages, Quetzaltenango averaged AQI 92 against 99, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Coatepeque and Quetzaltenango today?
In Coatepeque, at AQI 58: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Quetzaltenango, at AQI 102: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, Coatepeque or Quetzaltenango?
Coatepeque has lost more: about 5,630 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 476 ha around Quetzaltenango. 5,400 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Coatepeque or Quetzaltenango?
Coatepeque has more tree cover: 55.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 5.8% around Quetzaltenango, or about 174,987 trees against 18,221. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Coatepeque and Quetzaltenango need?
Coatepeque needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Quetzaltenango about 91,735 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 40 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Coatepeque and Quetzaltenango measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Coatepeque vs Quetzaltenango comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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