Air quality comparison · Nicaragua, 76 km apart
León vs Managua Air quality index (AQI) today
Managua has cleaner air than León right now: AQI 43 (Good) against 46 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Managua averaged AQI 27 against 35, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. León has lost more forest since 2001. León has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
León46Managua43
Head to head
León vs Managua at a glance
León and Managua are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| León | Managua | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 46 | 43 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 7.5 (better) | 7.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 35 | 27 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 507 ha | 263 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 38.9% (better) | 17.7% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 38.6K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in León and Managua right now?
Managua has cleaner air than León right now: AQI 43 (Good) against 46 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Managua is read from a nearby ground station and León is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
LeónManagua
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).
León: Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 105 km, e.g. Managua and Masaya. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index.
Managua: Ground station · Managua, Nicaragua - Sustenta Honduras, 14.1 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Sustenta Honduras.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Managua averaged AQI 27 against 35, 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
- León0Managua6
- Average AQI
- León35Managua27
- Worst day, AQI
- León48Managua38
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | León | Managua |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 48 | 38 |
| Nov 5 | 37 | 32 |
| Nov 6 | 24 | 24 |
| Nov 7 | 33 | 27 |
| Nov 8 | 29 | 24 |
| Nov 9 | 38 | 29 |
| Nov 10 | 36 | 18 |
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 León and Managua 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 León and Managua compare with the rest of the world?
Right now León's air is cleaner than 65% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Managua's is cleaner than 67%. Within Nicaragua, that is 20% and 40% of its 6 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- León
- Beats 65%
- Managua
- Beats 67%
More tree cover than…
- León
- Beats 82%
- Managua
- Beats 41%
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, León or Managua?
León has lost more: about 507 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 263 ha around Managua. 490 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: 2012, with 76 ha lost.
Worst year: 2006, with 31 ha lost.
| León | Managua | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 507 ha | 263 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 7.7% | 3.3% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 490 ha | 252 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (95%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (56%) |
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.
León
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Managua
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, León or Managua?
León has more tree cover: 38.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.7% around Managua, or about 122,208 trees against 55,606.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| León | Managua | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 122K (better) | 55.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 38.6K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.7M kg (better) | 1.2M 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
León vs Managua: your questions answered
Is Managua cleaner than León?
On air quality, yes, right now: Managua reads AQI 43 against 46, 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. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Managua averaged AQI 27 against 35, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in León and Managua today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. León reads AQI 46 and Managua reads AQI 43.
Which has lost more forest, León or Managua?
León has lost more: about 507 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 263 ha around Managua. 490 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, León or Managua?
León has more tree cover: 38.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.7% around Managua, or about 122,208 trees against 55,606. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do León and Managua need?
León needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Managua about 38,642 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are León and Managua 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. Managua is read from a nearby ground station and León is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the León vs Managua 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 28, 2026 and Aug 15, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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