Air quality comparison · El Salvador, 58 km apart
San Salvador vs Sonsonate Air quality index (AQI) today
San Salvador has cleaner air than Sonsonate right now: AQI 28 (Good) against 37 (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, Sonsonate averaged AQI 50 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Sonsonate has lost more forest since 2001. Sonsonate has more tree cover.
El Salvador
AQI 28
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 4.9 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 13:00 local
El Salvador
AQI 37
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 7.6 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 14:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
San Salvador28Sonsonate37
Head to head
San Salvador vs Sonsonate at a glance
San Salvador is ahead on 3 of 6 measures, and Sonsonate on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| San Salvador | Sonsonate | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 28 (better) | 37 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 4.9 (better) | 7.6 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 57 | 50 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 869 ha (better) | 996 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 36.9% | 41.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 | 0 |
Air quality today
What is the air like in San Salvador and Sonsonate right now?
San Salvador has cleaner air than Sonsonate right now: AQI 28 (Good) against 37 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
San SalvadorSonsonate
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 Salvador: Estimate · model corrected with 7 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Villa Nueva and Guatemala City. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 7 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index.
Sonsonate: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 145 km, e.g. Villa Nueva and Guatemala City. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Sonsonate averaged AQI 50 against 57, 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 Salvador1Sonsonate6
- Average AQI
- San Salvador57Sonsonate50
- Worst day, AQI
- San Salvador72Sonsonate61
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | San Salvador | Sonsonate |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 57 | 46 |
| Nov 5 | 46 | 37 |
| Nov 6 | 68 | 58 |
| Nov 7 | 72 | 61 |
| Nov 8 | 50 | 54 |
| Nov 9 | 50 | 45 |
| Nov 10 | 57 | 47 |
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 Salvador and Sonsonate 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 San Salvador and Sonsonate compare with the rest of the world?
Right now San Salvador's air is cleaner than 82% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Sonsonate's is cleaner than 73%. Within El Salvador, that is 83% and 50% of its 7 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- San Salvador
- Beats 82%
- Sonsonate
- Beats 73%
More tree cover than…
- San Salvador
- Beats 80%
- Sonsonate
- Beats 85%
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 Salvador or Sonsonate?
Sonsonate has lost more: about 996 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 869 ha around San Salvador. 987 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: 2017, with 61 ha lost.
Worst year: 2005, with 91 ha lost.
| San Salvador | Sonsonate | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 869 ha (better) | 996 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 5.2% (better) | 6.3% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 849 ha (better) | 987 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (70%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (93%) |
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 Salvador
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Sonsonate
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, San Salvador or Sonsonate?
Sonsonate has more tree cover: 41.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 36.9% around San Salvador, or about 129,119 trees against 115,925.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| San Salvador | Sonsonate | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 116K | 129K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 | 0 |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.6M kg | 2.8M 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 Salvador vs Sonsonate: your questions answered
Is San Salvador cleaner than Sonsonate?
On air quality, yes, right now: San Salvador reads AQI 28 against 37, a gap of 9 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, Sonsonate averaged AQI 50 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in San Salvador and Sonsonate today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. San Salvador reads AQI 28 and Sonsonate reads AQI 37.
Which has lost more forest, San Salvador or Sonsonate?
Sonsonate has lost more: about 996 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 869 ha around San Salvador. 987 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, San Salvador or Sonsonate?
Sonsonate has more tree cover: 41.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 36.9% around San Salvador, or about 129,119 trees against 115,925. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do San Salvador and Sonsonate need?
San Salvador needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Sonsonate about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 58 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are San Salvador and Sonsonate 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 are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the San Salvador vs Sonsonate 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 (Sep 12, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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