Santo Domingo
2 km around San Carlos
Air quality now
AQI 65
14.5%
tree cover
35.6K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
North America · air quality report · 11 cities
Dominican Republic air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 11 cities Airleaf measures in the Dominican Republic average AQI 52 (moderate). The worst air is in Punta Cana, at AQI 91, and the cleanest in La Romana, at AQI 29.
None of the 11 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 55% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 52
Moderate
US EPA index, across 11 cities
- cities measured
- 11
- worst air: Punta Cana
- 91
- cleanest air: La Romana
- 29
- average tree cover
- 28.0%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Dominican Republic · average AQI 52
Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in the Dominican Republic
Moderate
Santiago de los Caballeros
2 km around Rincon Largo
Air quality now
AQI 50
29.0%
tree cover
3.1K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
San Pedro de Macorís
2 km around Centro De La Ciudad
Air quality now
AQI 42
25.9%
tree cover
10.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
La Romana
2 km around Centro De La Ciudad
Air quality now
AQI 29
30.3%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Puerto Plata
2 km around Ensanche Miramar
Air quality now
AQI 48
19.3%
tree cover
20.8K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Santo Domingo Oeste
2 km around San Miguel
Air quality now
AQI 60
28.5%
tree cover
4.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
San Cristóbal
2 km around Zona Verde
Air quality now
AQI 53
40.0%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
San Francisco de Macorís
2 km around Hermanas Mirabal
Air quality now
AQI 36
32.1%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across the Dominican Republic today?
None of the 11 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 55% have Good air. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
11 measured cities
- Good6 (55%)
- Moderate5 (45%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
In aggregate
Dominican Republic in numbers
Every figure below is read the same way over the same 2 km area per city, so they add up and compare like for like. Averaged across the 11 of 11 cities measured so far in the Dominican Republic.
- Average air quality
- AQI 52Mean of the latest reading per city
- Average tree cover
- 28.0%7 of 11 below their target
- Trees counted
- 909KAcross every measured area
- More trees needed
- 115KTo bring each area to its target
Worst air quality right now
Cleanest air right now
Greenest cities in the Dominican Republic
Least tree cover in the Dominican Republic
Excludes barren and desert sites
Against everywhere else
How does the Dominican Republic compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of the Dominican Republic average cleaner air than 52% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 62%.
Cleaner air than…
- Dominican Republic
- Beats 52%
More tree cover than…
- Dominican Republic
- Beats 62%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has the Dominican Republic lost?
Since 2001, the Dominican Republic has lost about 406,000 hectares of forest (about 4,100 km²): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (78%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 406,000 haabout 4,100 km²
- Share of its forest
- 16%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 318,000 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 | 9,610 ha | 1,720 ha | 11,300 ha |
| 2002 | 9,450 ha | 921 ha | 10,400 ha |
| 2003 | 9,580 ha | 1,110 ha | 10,700 ha |
| 2004 | 17,400 ha | 1,900 ha | 19,300 ha |
| 2005 | 14,900 ha | 10,200 ha | 25,100 ha |
| 2006 | 12,300 ha | 1,140 ha | 13,400 ha |
| 2007 | 14,400 ha | 1,640 ha | 16,100 ha |
| 2008 | 19,300 ha | 2,320 ha | 21,600 ha |
| 2009 | 12,800 ha | 1,150 ha | 14,000 ha |
| 2010 | 12,800 ha | 1,300 ha | 14,100 ha |
| 2011 | 11,900 ha | 1,120 ha | 13,000 ha |
| 2012 | 16,000 ha | 2,080 ha | 18,100 ha |
| 2013 | 9,340 ha | 3,400 ha | 12,700 ha |
| 2014 | 10,400 ha | 3,370 ha | 13,700 ha |
| 2015 | 9,620 ha | 5,550 ha | 15,200 ha |
| 2016 | 16,300 ha | 8,700 ha | 25,000 ha |
| 2017 | 21,200 ha | 5,880 ha | 27,100 ha |
| 2018 | 11,800 ha | 2,180 ha | 14,000 ha |
| 2019 | 11,800 ha | 3,200 ha | 15,000 ha |
| 2020 | 14,900 ha | 6,630 ha | 21,500 ha |
| 2021 | 10,700 ha | 3,530 ha | 14,200 ha |
| 2022 | 8,930 ha | 4,270 ha | 13,200 ha |
| 2023 | 13,800 ha | 9,310 ha | 23,100 ha |
| 2024 | 9,800 ha | 3,260 ha | 13,100 ha |
| 2025 | 9,320 ha | 2,150 ha | 11,500 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 15,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 20,500 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 27,100 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in the Dominican Republic?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good74% · 301,000 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back12% · 48,100 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back7.8% · 31,800 ha
Also: towns and roads, mining and energy, logging, 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.
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
Dominican Republic as a whole
46.7% of the Dominican Republic 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).
Full directory
Every city we track in the Dominican Republic
11 cities, A–Z
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Dominican Republic
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in the Dominican Republic
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 the Dominican Republic: your questions answered
What is the air quality in the Dominican Republic today?
Right now the 11 cities Airleaf measures in the Dominican Republic average AQI 52 (moderate). The worst air is in Punta Cana, at AQI 91, and the cleanest in La Romana, at AQI 29. None of the 11 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 55% have Good air.
Which city in the Dominican Republic has the worst air right now?
Punta Cana, at AQI 91 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in the Dominican Republic has the cleanest air right now?
La Romana, at AQI 29 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever the Dominican Republic has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in the Dominican Republic safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 6 cities are Good, 5 cities are Moderate. At the national average of AQI 52: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
How much forest has the Dominican Republic lost since 2001?
About 406,000 ha from 2001 to 2025, 16% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 318,000 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which city in the Dominican Republic has the most trees?
Punta Cana, with 41.4% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in the Dominican Republic?
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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