San Salvador
2 km around San Salvador
Air quality now
AQI 43
36.9%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
North America · air quality report · 7 cities
El Salvador air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 7 cities Airleaf measures in El Salvador average AQI 41 (good). The worst air is in Usulután, at AQI 55, and the cleanest in Santa Ana, at AQI 17.
None of the 7 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 71% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 41
Good
US EPA index, across 7 cities
- cities measured
- 7
- worst air: Usulután
- 55
- cleanest air: Santa Ana
- 17
- average tree cover
- 40.4%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
El Salvador · average AQI 41
Air quality right now in all 7 cities in El Salvador
Good
San Miguel
2 km around San Miguel
Air quality now
AQI 29
33.1%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Santa Ana
2 km around Barrio San Miguelito
Air quality now
AQI 17
37.2%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Sonsonate
2 km around Sonsonate
Air quality now
AQI 46
41.1%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Usulután
2 km around Usulutan
Air quality now
AQI 55
50.0%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Santa Tecla
2 km around Col Santa Monica
Air quality now
AQI 52
32.7%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Apopa
2 km around Urb La Ermita 2
Air quality now
AQI 47
51.8%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across El Salvador today?
None of the 7 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 71% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
7 measured cities
- Good5 (71%)
- Moderate2 (29%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How does El Salvador compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of El Salvador average cleaner air than 70% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 89%.
Cleaner air than…
- El Salvador
- Beats 70%
More tree cover than…
- El Salvador
- Beats 89%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has El Salvador lost?
Since 2001, El Salvador has lost about 87,500 hectares of forest (about 120,000 football pitches): 8.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 87,500 haabout 120,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 8.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 85,700 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 | 9,490 ha | 95 ha | 9,580 ha |
| 2002 | 4,610 ha | 53 ha | 4,660 ha |
| 2003 | 5,990 ha | 60 ha | 6,050 ha |
| 2004 | 4,510 ha | 47 ha | 4,560 ha |
| 2005 | 5,860 ha | 61 ha | 5,920 ha |
| 2006 | 4,530 ha | 82 ha | 4,610 ha |
| 2007 | 2,910 ha | 49 ha | 2,960 ha |
| 2008 | 3,310 ha | 43 ha | 3,350 ha |
| 2009 | 4,260 ha | 52 ha | 4,310 ha |
| 2010 | 2,830 ha | 43 ha | 2,870 ha |
| 2011 | 3,190 ha | 50 ha | 3,240 ha |
| 2012 | 2,480 ha | 76 ha | 2,550 ha |
| 2013 | 2,030 ha | 40 ha | 2,070 ha |
| 2014 | 2,300 ha | 30 ha | 2,330 ha |
| 2015 | 2,360 ha | 44 ha | 2,410 ha |
| 2016 | 5,460 ha | 319 ha | 5,780 ha |
| 2017 | 4,720 ha | 104 ha | 4,820 ha |
| 2018 | 2,580 ha | 127 ha | 2,710 ha |
| 2019 | 2,220 ha | 27 ha | 2,250 ha |
| 2020 | 2,190 ha | 30 ha | 2,220 ha |
| 2021 | 1,450 ha | 42 ha | 1,500 ha |
| 2022 | 1,610 ha | 29 ha | 1,640 ha |
| 2023 | 1,650 ha | 154 ha | 1,800 ha |
| 2024 | 1,650 ha | 32 ha | 1,690 ha |
| 2025 | 1,520 ha | 80 ha | 1,600 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 1,640 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 3,560 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2001, when about 9,580 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in El Salvador?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good94% · 82,400 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good3.8% · 3,290 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, shifting farming, wildfires, logging, 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
El Salvador as a whole
33.0% of El Salvador 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 El Salvador with another country
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El Salvador
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in El Salvador
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 El Salvador: your questions answered
What is the air quality in El Salvador today?
Right now the 7 cities Airleaf measures in El Salvador average AQI 41 (good). The worst air is in Usulután, at AQI 55, and the cleanest in Santa Ana, at AQI 17. None of the 7 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 71% have Good air.
Which city in El Salvador has the worst air right now?
Usulután, at AQI 55 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in El Salvador has the cleanest air right now?
Santa Ana, at AQI 17 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever El Salvador has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in El Salvador safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 5 cities are Good, 2 cities are Moderate. At the national average of AQI 41: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has El Salvador lost since 2001?
About 87,500 ha from 2001 to 2025, 9% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 85,700 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in El Salvador?
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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