Belmopan
2 km around Belmopan
Air quality now
AQI 9
42.6%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
North America · air quality report · 5 cities
Belize air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Belize average AQI 15 (good). The worst air is in Belize City, at AQI 18, and the cleanest in Belmopan, at AQI 9.
None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 15
Good
US EPA index, across 5 cities
- cities measured
- 5
- worst air: Belize City
- 18
- cleanest air: Belmopan
- 9
- average tree cover
- 39.6%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Belize · average AQI 15
Air quality right now in all 5 cities in Belize
Good
Belize City
2 km around Belize City
Air quality now
AQI 18
25.1%
tree cover
12.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
San Ignacio
2 km around San Ignacio
Air quality now
AQI 14
53.9%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
San Pedro
2 km around San Pedro
Air quality now
AQI 17
32.7%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Orange Walk
2 km around Orange Walk
Air quality now
AQI 16
43.9%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Belize today?
None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
5 measured cities
- Good5 (100%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How does Belize compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Belize average cleaner air than 99% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 88%.
Cleaner air than…
- Belize
- Beats 99%
More tree cover than…
- Belize
- Beats 88%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Belize lost?
Since 2001, Belize has lost about 353,000 hectares of forest (about 3,500 km²): 20% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (69%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 353,000 haabout 3,500 km²
- Share of its forest
- 20%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 243,000 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4,520 ha | 3,750 ha | 8,270 ha |
| 2002 | 8,550 ha | 5,010 ha | 13,600 ha |
| 2003 | 5,070 ha | 1,850 ha | 6,930 ha |
| 2004 | 3,930 ha | 455 ha | 4,380 ha |
| 2005 | 6,070 ha | 2,130 ha | 8,200 ha |
| 2006 | 3,290 ha | 1,010 ha | 4,300 ha |
| 2007 | 8,590 ha | 3,870 ha | 12,500 ha |
| 2008 | 7,080 ha | 1,290 ha | 8,370 ha |
| 2009 | 8,840 ha | 1,670 ha | 10,500 ha |
| 2010 | 8,160 ha | 1,800 ha | 9,960 ha |
| 2011 | 17,300 ha | 9,280 ha | 26,600 ha |
| 2012 | 10,200 ha | 1,590 ha | 11,800 ha |
| 2013 | 13,100 ha | 3,600 ha | 16,700 ha |
| 2014 | 14,500 ha | 2,220 ha | 16,700 ha |
| 2015 | 10,500 ha | 1,800 ha | 12,300 ha |
| 2016 | 15,100 ha | 5,910 ha | 21,000 ha |
| 2017 | 11,400 ha | 5,150 ha | 16,500 ha |
| 2018 | 9,110 ha | 2,180 ha | 11,300 ha |
| 2019 | 14,300 ha | 4,310 ha | 18,600 ha |
| 2020 | 16,000 ha | 11,100 ha | 27,000 ha |
| 2021 | 7,180 ha | 2,240 ha | 9,420 ha |
| 2022 | 7,020 ha | 1,260 ha | 8,270 ha |
| 2023 | 13,000 ha | 9,730 ha | 22,700 ha |
| 2024 | 12,200 ha | 22,600 ha | 34,900 ha |
| 2025 | 7,950 ha | 4,660 ha | 12,600 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 17,600 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 18,900 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2024, when about 34,900 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Belize?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good68% · 240,000 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back16% · 56,200 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back9.6% · 33,800 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, logging, towns and roads, mining and energy, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
Belize as a whole
58.0% of Belize was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. That already clears the benchmark — the city reports above show where cover is still thin locally. Source: World Bank (FAO).
Build your own
Compare Belize with another country
This place
Belize
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Belize
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
- The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
Air purifiers that keep up with wildfire smoke and winter smog, ranked by verified smoke CADR, with the room each one clears on a smoky day.
- The best air purifiers under $200
Good HEPA air purifiers under $200 at the makers' own prices, compared on verified clean air, room size and what the filters cost each year.
- NIOSH-approved N95 masks for smoke and smog
NIOSH-approved N95 masks and P100 respirators for smog and smoke, and how to get the fit right. Cloth and surgical masks do little against PM2.5.
Frequently asked
Air quality in Belize: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Belize today?
Right now the 5 cities Airleaf measures in Belize average AQI 15 (good). The worst air is in Belize City, at AQI 18, and the cleanest in Belmopan, at AQI 9. None of the 5 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air.
Which city in Belize has the worst air right now?
Belize City, at AQI 18 (Good) on the US EPA index. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which city in Belize has the cleanest air right now?
Belmopan, at AQI 9 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Belize has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Belize safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 5 cities are Good. At the national average of AQI 15: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has Belize lost since 2001?
About 353,000 ha from 2001 to 2025, 20% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 243,000 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Belize?
Each city's reading is the US EPA air quality index, from ground monitoring stations where one has reported recently nearby, and from the CAMS atmospheric model elsewhere; each city's report says which. Tree cover is measured over the same 2 km radius in every city, so the cities compare like for like.
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