Air quality comparison · Honduras, 181 km apart
San Pedro Sula vs Tegucigalpa Air quality index (AQI) today
Tegucigalpa has cleaner air than San Pedro Sula right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 66 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Tegucigalpa averaged AQI 42 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. San Pedro Sula has lost more forest since 2001. Tegucigalpa has more tree cover.
Honduras
AQI 66
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 17.1 µg/m³1.1× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 12:00 local
Honduras
AQI 9
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 1.6 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 12:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
San Pedro Sula66Tegucigalpa9
Head to head
San Pedro Sula vs Tegucigalpa at a glance
Tegucigalpa is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and San Pedro Sula on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| San Pedro Sula | Tegucigalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 66 | 9 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 17.1 | 1.6 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 53 | 42 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 2,140 ha | 869 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 15.9% | 20.9% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 44.3K | 28.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa right now?
Tegucigalpa has cleaner air than San Pedro Sula right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 66 (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.
San Pedro SulaTegucigalpa
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).
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.
Tegucigalpa: Ground station · Colonia Los Pinos, Distrito Central - Sustenta Honduras, 5.2 km away. 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, Tegucigalpa averaged AQI 42 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
- San Pedro Sula0Tegucigalpa6
- Average AQI
- San Pedro Sula53Tegucigalpa42
- Worst day, AQI
- San Pedro Sula65Tegucigalpa56
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | San Pedro Sula | Tegucigalpa |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 60 | 49 |
| Nov 6 | 65 | 56 |
| Nov 7 | 42 | 36 |
| Nov 8 | 43 | 30 |
| Nov 9 | 50 | 42 |
| Nov 10 | 55 | 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 San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa today?
San Pedro Sula (AQI 66, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Tegucigalpa (AQI 9, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- San Pedro Sula
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Tegucigalpa
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- San Pedro Sula
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Tegucigalpa
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- San Pedro Sula
- Not needed for most people.
- Tegucigalpa
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- San Pedro Sula
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Tegucigalpa
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa compare with the rest of the world?
Right now San Pedro Sula's air is cleaner than 41% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Tegucigalpa's is cleaner than 97%. Within Honduras, that is 0% and 100% of its 11 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- San Pedro Sula
- Beats 41%
- Tegucigalpa
- Beats 97%
More tree cover than…
- San Pedro Sula
- Beats 37%
- 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, San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa?
San Pedro Sula has lost more: about 2,140 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: 2019, with 258 ha lost.
Worst year: 2016, with 401 ha lost.
| San Pedro Sula | Tegucigalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2,140 ha | 869 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 12% | 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 (53%) | 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.
San Pedro Sula
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast 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, San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa?
Tegucigalpa has more tree cover: 20.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 15.9% around San Pedro Sula, or about 65,659 trees against 49,951.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| San Pedro Sula | Tegucigalpa | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 50.0K | 65.7K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 44.3K | 28.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.1M kg | 1.4M 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
San Pedro Sula vs Tegucigalpa: your questions answered
Is Tegucigalpa cleaner than San Pedro Sula?
On air quality, yes, right now: Tegucigalpa reads AQI 9 against 66, a gap of 57 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, Tegucigalpa averaged AQI 42 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa today?
In San Pedro Sula, at AQI 66: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Tegucigalpa, at AQI 9: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa?
San Pedro Sula has lost more: about 2,140 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, San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa?
Tegucigalpa has more tree cover: 20.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 15.9% around San Pedro Sula, or about 65,659 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 San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa need?
San Pedro Sula needs about 44,296 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 San Pedro Sula 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 San Pedro Sula 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 (Jun 19, 2026 and Aug 23, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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