City report · Puerto Rico
Arecibo Air quality today
Air quality in Arecibo currently reads AQI 69 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 69
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 18.3
- tree cover
- 42.8%
- trees in this area
- 77.0K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Arecibo Pueblo, Arecibo, 00612, Puerto Rico (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 4, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Arecibo · AQI 69 (Moderate)
Arecibo's tree count comes to 77,046 trees across 2.8 sq mi (7.2 km²) of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Arecibo today: AQI 69, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 00:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 65 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 40.4 mi (65 km), e.g. Bayamón and San Juan
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
18.3
PM10
6.3
NO₂
1.5
O₃
28.0
SO₂
1.0
CO
109.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Arecibo's daily AQI at 23 on average, from 9 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 5.
Where Arecibo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Arecibo: Healthy tree cover
42.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 2.8 sq mi (7.2 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
77,046
Target trees
77,046
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Arecibo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Arecibo has lost about 1,120 acres (452 hectares) of forest (about 850 football fields): 7.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (78%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 3 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,120 acres (452 ha)about 850 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 7.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 872 acres (353 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2017, when about 351 acres (142 hectares) of forest were lost.
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 14 acres (6 ha) | under 1 ha | 16 acres (6 ha) |
| 2002 | 44 acres (18 ha) | under 1 ha | 46 acres (18 ha) |
| 2003 | 53 acres (22 ha) | under 1 ha | 54 acres (22 ha) |
| 2004 | 37 acres (15 ha) | under 1 ha | 38 acres (15 ha) |
| 2005 | 44 acres (18 ha) | under 1 ha | 44 acres (18 ha) |
| 2006 | 53 acres (21 ha) | under 1 ha | 53 acres (21 ha) |
| 2007 | 20 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 20 acres (8 ha) |
| 2008 | 27 acres (11 ha) | under 1 ha | 27 acres (11 ha) |
| 2009 | 41 acres (17 ha) | under 1 ha | 42 acres (17 ha) |
| 2010 | 14 acres (6 ha) | under 1 ha | 15 acres (6 ha) |
| 2011 | 19 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 19 acres (8 ha) |
| 2012 | 18 acres (7 ha) | under 1 ha | 20 acres (8 ha) |
| 2013 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2014 | 21 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 22 acres (9 ha) |
| 2015 | 53 acres (22 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 57 acres (23 ha) |
| 2016 | 16 acres (7 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 19 acres (8 ha) |
| 2017 | 145 acres (59 ha) | 206 acres (83 ha) | 351 acres (142 ha) |
| 2018 | 19 acres (8 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 24 acres (10 ha) |
| 2019 | 47 acres (19 ha) | 12 acres (5 ha) | 59 acres (24 ha) |
| 2020 | 12 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 12 acres (5 ha) |
| 2021 | 50 acres (20 ha) | 2 acres (1 ha) | 53 acres (21 ha) |
| 2022 | 20 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 21 acres (8 ha) |
| 2023 | 85 acres (34 ha) | under 1 ha | 87 acres (35 ha) |
| 2024 | 5 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2025 | 9 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 10 acres (4 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Arecibo?
- Towns and roadscleared for good43% · 484 acres (196 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good35% · 388 acres (157 ha)
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back17% · 188 acres (76 ha)
Also: shifting farming, logging, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 15,400 acres (6,250 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 15,700 acres (6,340 ha)
- Overall change
- +225 acres (91 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Arecibo stayed about the same size, at about 15,700 acres (6,340 hectares): new forest grew on about 647 acres (262 hectares), and about 423 acres (171 hectares) were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
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Frequently asked
Questions about Arecibo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Arecibo right now?
The latest reading for Arecibo shows an AQI of 69 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 00:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 65 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Arecibo today?
At AQI 69 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Arecibo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Arecibo's daily AQI at 23 on average, from 9 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Arecibo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Arecibo has lost about 1,120 acres (452 hectares) of forest (about 850 football fields): 7.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (78%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Arecibo stayed about the same size, at about 15,700 acres (6,340 hectares): new forest grew on about 647 acres (262 hectares), and about 423 acres (171 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Arecibo?
Arecibo has an estimated 77,046 trees across the 2.8 sq mi (7.2 km²) of land measured — 42.8% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Arecibo need?
Arecibo has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Arecibo's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Arecibo Pueblo; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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