Air quality comparison · Nicaragua, 118 km apart
León vs Matagalpa Air quality index (AQI) today
Matagalpa has cleaner air than León right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 17 (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, Matagalpa averaged AQI 25 against 35, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Matagalpa has lost more forest since 2001. Matagalpa has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
León17Matagalpa9
Head to head
León vs Matagalpa at a glance
Matagalpa is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and León on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| León | Matagalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 17 | 9 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 2.7 | 1.6 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 35 | 25 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 507 ha (better) | 838 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 38.9% | 41.7% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 | 0 |
Air quality today
What is the air like in León and Matagalpa right now?
Matagalpa has cleaner air than León right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 17 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Matagalpa is read from a nearby ground station and León is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
LeónMatagalpa
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.
Matagalpa: Ground station · Matagalpa, Matagalpa - Sustenta Honduras, 100 m 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, Matagalpa averaged AQI 25 against 35, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 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
- León0Matagalpa7
- Average AQI
- León35Matagalpa25
- Worst day, AQI
- León48Matagalpa46
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | León | Matagalpa |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 48 | 46 |
| Nov 5 | 37 | 32 |
| Nov 6 | 24 | 19 |
| Nov 7 | 33 | 29 |
| Nov 8 | 29 | 15 |
| Nov 9 | 38 | 23 |
| Nov 10 | 36 | 14 |
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 Matagalpa 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 Matagalpa compare with the rest of the world?
Right now León's air is cleaner than 91% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Matagalpa's is cleaner than 97%. Within Nicaragua, that is 20% and 100% of its 6 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- León
- Beats 91%
- Matagalpa
- Beats 97%
More tree cover than…
- León
- Beats 82%
- Matagalpa
- Beats 86%
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 Matagalpa?
Matagalpa has lost more: about 838 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 507 ha around León. 791 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: 2023, with 134 ha lost.
| León | Matagalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 507 ha (better) | 838 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 7.7% | 4% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 490 ha (better) | 791 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (95%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (94%) |
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.
Matagalpa
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, León or Matagalpa?
Matagalpa has more tree cover: 41.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 38.9% around León, or about 131,004 trees against 122,208.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| León | Matagalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 122K | 131K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 | 0 |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.7M kg | 2.9M kg (better) |
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 Matagalpa: your questions answered
Is Matagalpa cleaner than León?
On air quality, yes, right now: Matagalpa reads AQI 9 against 17, a gap of 8 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, Matagalpa averaged AQI 25 against 35, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in León and Matagalpa today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. León reads AQI 17 and Matagalpa reads AQI 9.
Which has lost more forest, León or Matagalpa?
Matagalpa has lost more: about 838 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 507 ha around León. 791 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, León or Matagalpa?
Matagalpa has more tree cover: 41.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 38.9% around León, or about 131,004 trees against 122,208. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do León and Matagalpa need?
León needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Matagalpa about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are León and Matagalpa 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. Matagalpa 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 Matagalpa 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 May 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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