Quito
2 km around La Colmena
Air quality now
AQI 19
23.1%
tree cover
21.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
South America · air quality report · 16 cities
Ecuador air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 16 cities Airleaf measures in Ecuador average AQI 19 (good). The worst air is in Esmeraldas, at AQI 29, and the cleanest in Santo Domingo de los Colorados, at AQI 8.
None of the 16 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 19
Good
US EPA index, across 16 cities
- cities measured
- 16
- worst air: Esmeraldas
- 29
- cleanest air: Santo Domingo de los Colorados
- 8
- average tree cover
- 13.4%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Ecuador · average AQI 19
Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in Ecuador
Good
Guayaquil
2 km around La Bahia
Air quality now
AQI 16
6.6%
tree cover
52.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Cuenca
2 km around El Sagrario
Air quality now
AQI 24
4.8%
tree cover
79.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Santo Domingo de los Colorados
2 km around Santo Domingo
Air quality now
AQI 8
15.4%
tree cover
45.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Ambato
2 km around Cumanda
Air quality now
AQI 24
14.8%
tree cover
47.8K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Portoviejo
2 km around Parroquia
Air quality now
AQI 9
32.9%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Machala
2 km around Parroquia Machala
Air quality now
AQI 17
2.2%
tree cover
85.7K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Loja
2 km around Loja
Air quality now
AQI 21
11.1%
tree cover
59.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Ecuador today?
None of the 16 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
16 measured cities
- Good16 (100%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
In aggregate
Ecuador 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 16 of 16 cities measured so far in Ecuador.
- Average air quality
- AQI 19Mean of the latest reading per city
- Average tree cover
- 13.4%14 of 16 below their target
- Trees counted
- 661KAcross every measured area
- More trees needed
- 814KTo bring each area to its target
Worst air quality right now
Cleanest air right now
Greenest cities in Ecuador
Least tree cover in Ecuador
Excludes barren and desert sites
Against everywhere else
How does Ecuador compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Ecuador average cleaner air than 96% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 26%.
Cleaner air than…
- Ecuador
- Beats 96%
More tree cover than…
- Ecuador
- Beats 26%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Ecuador lost?
Since 2001, Ecuador has lost about 1.12 million hectares of forest (about 11,000 km²): 5.9% 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
- 1.12 million haabout 11,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 5.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 875,000 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 | 38,800 ha | 6,520 ha | 45,400 ha |
| 2002 | 23,400 ha | 6,690 ha | 30,100 ha |
| 2003 | 10,700 ha | 3,290 ha | 14,000 ha |
| 2004 | 32,400 ha | 5,140 ha | 37,500 ha |
| 2005 | 35,600 ha | 5,180 ha | 40,800 ha |
| 2006 | 30,100 ha | 5,620 ha | 35,700 ha |
| 2007 | 55,000 ha | 5,910 ha | 60,900 ha |
| 2008 | 45,700 ha | 6,240 ha | 52,000 ha |
| 2009 | 51,300 ha | 6,590 ha | 57,900 ha |
| 2010 | 28,600 ha | 5,250 ha | 33,800 ha |
| 2011 | 36,700 ha | 7,010 ha | 43,700 ha |
| 2012 | 63,600 ha | 11,000 ha | 74,600 ha |
| 2013 | 37,900 ha | 10,500 ha | 48,500 ha |
| 2014 | 25,100 ha | 5,980 ha | 31,100 ha |
| 2015 | 22,100 ha | 8,180 ha | 30,300 ha |
| 2016 | 31,300 ha | 13,200 ha | 44,500 ha |
| 2017 | 52,200 ha | 19,400 ha | 71,600 ha |
| 2018 | 26,100 ha | 13,100 ha | 39,200 ha |
| 2019 | 25,900 ha | 10,100 ha | 36,000 ha |
| 2020 | 32,800 ha | 16,400 ha | 49,300 ha |
| 2021 | 20,600 ha | 9,820 ha | 30,500 ha |
| 2022 | 34,700 ha | 18,200 ha | 52,900 ha |
| 2023 | 31,900 ha | 11,400 ha | 43,300 ha |
| 2024 | 43,800 ha | 18,400 ha | 62,300 ha |
| 2025 | 38,300 ha | 13,700 ha | 52,000 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 48,200 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 48,100 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2012, when about 74,600 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Ecuador?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good77% · 858,000 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back15% · 169,000 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back2.8% · 31,500 ha
Also: logging, mining and energy, towns and roads, wildfires, 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
Ecuador as a whole
49.7% of Ecuador 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 Ecuador
16 cities, A–Z
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Ecuador
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Ecuador
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 Ecuador: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Ecuador today?
Right now the 16 cities Airleaf measures in Ecuador average AQI 19 (good). The worst air is in Esmeraldas, at AQI 29, and the cleanest in Santo Domingo de los Colorados, at AQI 8. None of the 16 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air.
Which city in Ecuador has the worst air right now?
Esmeraldas, at AQI 29 (Good) on the US EPA index. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which city in Ecuador has the cleanest air right now?
Santo Domingo de los Colorados, at AQI 8 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Ecuador has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Ecuador safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 16 cities are Good. At the national average of AQI 19: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has Ecuador lost since 2001?
About 1.12 million ha from 2001 to 2025, 6% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 875,000 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which city in Ecuador has the most trees?
Esmeraldas, with 36.1% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Ecuador?
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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