City report · Nicaragua
Chinandega Air quality today
Air quality in Chinandega currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 55
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.6
- tree cover
- 37.4%
- trees in this area
- 117K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around El Calvario, Chinandega, Nicaragua (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 28, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Chinandega · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Chinandega's tree count comes to 117,496 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Chinandega today: AQI 55, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 145 km, e.g. Managua and Masaya
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.6
PM10
5.7
NO₂
0.5
O₃
82.0
SO₂
1.2
CO
147.0
- 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 Chinandega's daily AQI at 40 on average, from 26 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 68 on Nov 10.
Where Chinandega stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Chinandega: Healthy tree cover
37.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
117,496
Target trees
117,496
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Chinandega lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Chinandega has lost about 793 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 793 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 784 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2012, when about 100 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 | 40 ha | under 1 ha | 40 ha |
| 2002 | 49 ha | under 1 ha | 50 ha |
| 2003 | 48 ha | under 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2004 | 39 ha | under 1 ha | 40 ha |
| 2005 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2006 | 50 ha | under 1 ha | 50 ha |
| 2007 | 80 ha | 1 ha | 81 ha |
| 2008 | 62 ha | under 1 ha | 62 ha |
| 2009 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2010 | 82 ha | 2 ha | 84 ha |
| 2011 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2012 | 99 ha | 2 ha | 100 ha |
| 2013 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2014 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2015 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2016 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2017 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2018 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2019 | 24 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2020 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2021 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2022 | 37 ha | under 1 ha | 37 ha |
| 2023 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Chinandega?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good98% · 777 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown1.2% · 9 ha
Also: towns and roads.
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
- 7,550 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,660 ha
- Overall change
- +111 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Chinandega stayed about the same size, at about 7,660 hectares: new forest grew on about 795 hectares, and about 685 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 Chinandega
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Estelí98.6 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 26
- Masaya134.1 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 43
- San Miguel148.2 km
El Salvador
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 59
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Frequently asked
Questions about Chinandega
What is the air quality (AQI) in Chinandega right now?
The latest reading for Chinandega shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 145 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 Chinandega today?
At AQI 55 (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 Chinandega been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Chinandega's daily AQI at 40 on average, from 26 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 68 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Chinandega lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Chinandega has lost about 793 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Chinandega stayed about the same size, at about 7,660 hectares: new forest grew on about 795 hectares, and about 685 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Chinandega?
Chinandega has an estimated 117,496 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 37.4% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Chinandega need?
Chinandega has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Chinandega'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 El Calvario; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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