City report · Quintana Roo, Mexico
Cancún Air quality today
Air quality in Cancún currently reads AQI 46 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 46
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.0
- tree cover
- 12.0%
- trees in this area
- 37.7K
- more trees needed
- 56.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Supermanzana 91, 77516 Cancún, Q.R., Mexico (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cancún · AQI 46 (Good)
Cancún's tree count comes to 37,699 trees across 12.57 km², 18 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 56,549 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cancún today: AQI 46, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 05:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
9.0
PM10
15.2
NO₂
1.4
O₃
59.0
SO₂
1.3
CO
112.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cancún's daily AQI at 35 on average, from 26 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 46 on Nov 5.
Where Cancún stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cancún: Critically low
12.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
37,699
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
56,549
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,244 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cancún lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cancún has lost about 6,210 hectares of forest (about 8,700 football pitches): 48% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 6,210 haabout 8,700 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 48%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 6,000 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 159 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 165 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2006, when about 805 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 126 ha | 1 ha | 127 ha |
| 2002 | 196 ha | 2 ha | 198 ha |
| 2003 | 212 ha | 2 ha | 214 ha |
| 2004 | 210 ha | 1 ha | 211 ha |
| 2005 | 274 ha | 3 ha | 277 ha |
| 2006 | 773 ha | 32 ha | 805 ha |
| 2007 | 634 ha | 1 ha | 635 ha |
| 2008 | 480 ha | 6 ha | 486 ha |
| 2009 | 243 ha | 3 ha | 246 ha |
| 2010 | 132 ha | under 1 ha | 132 ha |
| 2011 | 261 ha | 1 ha | 262 ha |
| 2012 | 132 ha | under 1 ha | 132 ha |
| 2013 | 117 ha | 19 ha | 136 ha |
| 2014 | 480 ha | 3 ha | 483 ha |
| 2015 | 207 ha | 43 ha | 250 ha |
| 2016 | 196 ha | 7 ha | 203 ha |
| 2017 | 172 ha | 3 ha | 175 ha |
| 2018 | 226 ha | 8 ha | 234 ha |
| 2019 | 100 ha | 1 ha | 101 ha |
| 2020 | 91 ha | 22 ha | 113 ha |
| 2021 | 179 ha | 13 ha | 192 ha |
| 2022 | 152 ha | 4 ha | 156 ha |
| 2023 | 101 ha | 6 ha | 107 ha |
| 2024 | 115 ha | 12 ha | 127 ha |
| 2025 | 188 ha | 24 ha | 212 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Cancún?
- Towns and roadscleared for good90% · 5,590 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good4% · 251 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.5% · 158 ha
Also: wildfires, shifting farming, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 6,980 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,300 ha
- Overall change
- −1,690 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cancún shrank from about 6,980 hectares to 5,300 hectares, a net loss of about 1,690 hectares (−24%). New forest grew on about 1,380 hectares, but 3,070 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
In the same region
Measured cities near Cancún
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Playa del Carmen65.5 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 28
- Mérida289.0 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 25%
- Air quality
- 49
- Chetumal332.2 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 17
- Pinar del Río353.3 km
Cuba
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 17
- San Pedro380.8 km
Belize
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 17
- Orange Walk388.1 km
Belize
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 16
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Frequently asked
Questions about Cancún
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cancún right now?
The latest reading for Cancún shows an AQI of 46 (Good), observed Nov 11, 05:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Cancún today?
At AQI 46 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Cancún been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cancún's daily AQI at 35 on average, from 26 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 46 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 Cancún lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cancún has lost about 6,210 hectares of forest (about 8,700 football pitches): 48% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 159 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 165 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cancún shrank from about 6,980 hectares to 5,300 hectares, a net loss of about 1,690 hectares (−24%). New forest grew on about 1,380 hectares, but 3,070 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Cancún?
Cancún has an estimated 37,699 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 12.0% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cancún need?
Cancún needs roughly 56,549 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,244 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Cancún'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 2 km radius around Supermanzana 91; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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