Air quality comparison · Honduras, 136 km apart
La Ceiba vs San Pedro Sula Air quality index (AQI) today
La Ceiba has cleaner air than San Pedro Sula right now: AQI 14 (Good) against 64 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, La Ceiba averaged AQI 29 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. La Ceiba has lost more forest since 2001. La Ceiba has more tree cover.
Honduras
AQI 14
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 2.5 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 11:00 local
Honduras
AQI 64
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 16.3 µg/m³1.1× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 11:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
La Ceiba14San Pedro Sula64
Head to head
La Ceiba vs San Pedro Sula at a glance
La Ceiba is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and San Pedro Sula on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| La Ceiba | San Pedro Sula | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 14 (better) | 64 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 2.5 (better) | 16.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 29 (better) | 53 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 2,200 ha | 2,140 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 60.7% (better) | 15.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 44.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula right now?
La Ceiba has cleaner air than San Pedro Sula right now: AQI 14 (Good) against 64 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
San Pedro Sula's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
La CeibaSan Pedro Sula
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).
La Ceiba: Ground station · Corozal, Atlantida - Sustenta Honduras, 11.1 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Sustenta Honduras.
San Pedro Sula: Ground station · Colonia Moderna, San Pedro Sula - Sustenta Honduras/CIPOTES, 1.7 km away · median of 2 stations. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Sustenta Honduras.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, La Ceiba averaged AQI 29 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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
- La Ceiba6San Pedro Sula0
- Average AQI
- La Ceiba29San Pedro Sula53
- Worst day, AQI
- La Ceiba43San Pedro Sula65
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | La Ceiba | San Pedro Sula |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 35 | 60 |
| Nov 6 | 39 | 65 |
| Nov 7 | 14 | 42 |
| Nov 8 | 35 | 43 |
| Nov 9 | 43 | 50 |
| Nov 10 | 10 | 55 |
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 La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula today?
La Ceiba (AQI 14, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
San Pedro Sula (AQI 64, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- La Ceiba
- A good day to be active outside.
- San Pedro Sula
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- La Ceiba
- Open them to air the house.
- San Pedro Sula
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- La Ceiba
- Not needed.
- San Pedro Sula
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- La Ceiba
- Not needed.
- San Pedro Sula
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula compare with the rest of the world?
Right now La Ceiba's air is cleaner than 94% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and San Pedro Sula's is cleaner than 43%. Within Honduras, that is 60% and 0% of its 11 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- La Ceiba
- Beats 94%
- San Pedro Sula
- Beats 43%
More tree cover than…
- La Ceiba
- Beats 97%
- San Pedro Sula
- Beats 37%
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, La Ceiba or San Pedro Sula?
La Ceiba has lost more: about 2,200 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,140 ha around San Pedro Sula. 1,890 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: 2020, with 220 ha lost.
Worst year: 2019, with 258 ha lost.
| La Ceiba | San Pedro Sula | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2,200 ha | 2,140 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 13% | 12% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1,890 ha (better) | 1,890 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (67%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (53%) |
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.
La Ceiba
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southwest of the city center.
San Pedro Sula
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, La Ceiba or San Pedro Sula?
La Ceiba has more tree cover: 60.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 15.9% around San Pedro Sula, or about 189,932 trees against 49,951.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| La Ceiba | San Pedro Sula | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 190K (better) | 50.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 44.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 4.2M kg (better) | 1.1M 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
La Ceiba vs San Pedro Sula: your questions answered
Is La Ceiba cleaner than San Pedro Sula?
On air quality, yes, right now: La Ceiba reads AQI 14 against 64, a gap of 50 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, La Ceiba averaged AQI 29 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula today?
In La Ceiba, at AQI 14: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In San Pedro Sula, at AQI 64: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, La Ceiba or San Pedro Sula?
La Ceiba has lost more: about 2,200 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,140 ha around San Pedro Sula. 1,890 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, La Ceiba or San Pedro Sula?
La Ceiba has more tree cover: 60.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 15.9% around San Pedro Sula, or about 189,932 trees against 49,951. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula need?
La Ceiba needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and San Pedro Sula about 44,296 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are La Ceiba and San Pedro Sula 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 come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the La Ceiba vs San Pedro Sula 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 (Aug 23, 2026 and Jun 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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