Air quality comparison · Honduras, 192 km apart
La Ceiba vs Tegucigalpa Air quality index (AQI) today
Tegucigalpa has cleaner air than La Ceiba right now: AQI 11 (Good) against 14 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, La Ceiba averaged AQI 31 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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 11
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 2 µg/m³
- 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 Ceiba14Tegucigalpa11
Head to head
La Ceiba vs Tegucigalpa at a glance
La Ceiba and Tegucigalpa are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| La Ceiba | Tegucigalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 14 | 11 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 2.5 | 2 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 31 (better) | 46 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 2,200 ha | 869 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 60.7% (better) | 20.9% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 28.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in La Ceiba and Tegucigalpa right now?
Tegucigalpa has cleaner air than La Ceiba right now: AQI 11 (Good) against 14 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
La CeibaTegucigalpa
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).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, La Ceiba averaged AQI 31 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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 Ceiba5Tegucigalpa2
- Average AQI
- La Ceiba31Tegucigalpa46
- Worst day, AQI
- La Ceiba43Tegucigalpa73
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | La Ceiba | Tegucigalpa |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 42 | 73 |
| Nov 5 | 35 | 49 |
| Nov 6 | 39 | 56 |
| Nov 7 | 14 | 36 |
| Nov 8 | 35 | 30 |
| Nov 9 | 43 | 42 |
| Nov 10 | 10 | 39 |
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 Tegucigalpa today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do La Ceiba and Tegucigalpa 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 Tegucigalpa's is cleaner than 96%. Within Honduras, that is 60% and 80% of its 11 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- La Ceiba
- Beats 94%
- Tegucigalpa
- Beats 96%
More tree cover than…
- La Ceiba
- Beats 97%
- Tegucigalpa
- Beats 49%
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 Tegucigalpa?
La Ceiba has lost more: about 2,200 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 869 ha around Tegucigalpa. 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: 2016, with 401 ha lost.
| La Ceiba | Tegucigalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2,200 ha | 869 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 13% | 9.6% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1,890 ha | 820 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (67%) | Towns and roads (51%) |
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.
Tegucigalpa
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, La Ceiba or Tegucigalpa?
La Ceiba has more tree cover: 60.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.9% around Tegucigalpa, or about 189,932 trees against 65,659.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| La Ceiba | Tegucigalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 190K (better) | 65.7K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 28.6K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 4.2M kg (better) | 1.4M 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 Tegucigalpa: your questions answered
Is Tegucigalpa cleaner than La Ceiba?
On air quality, yes, right now: Tegucigalpa reads AQI 11 against 14, a gap of 3 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, La Ceiba averaged AQI 31 against 46, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in La Ceiba and Tegucigalpa today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. La Ceiba reads AQI 14 and Tegucigalpa reads AQI 11.
Which has lost more forest, La Ceiba or Tegucigalpa?
La Ceiba has lost more: about 2,200 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 869 ha around Tegucigalpa. 1,890 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, La Ceiba or Tegucigalpa?
La Ceiba has more tree cover: 60.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 20.9% around Tegucigalpa, or about 189,932 trees against 65,659. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do La Ceiba and Tegucigalpa need?
La Ceiba needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Tegucigalpa about 28,588 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are La Ceiba and Tegucigalpa 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 Tegucigalpa 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 Aug 23, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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