Cayenne
2 km around Centre-Ville
Air quality now
AQI 51
48.5%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
South America · air quality report · 3 cities
French Guiana air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 3 cities Airleaf measures in French Guiana average AQI 54 (moderate). The worst air is in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, at AQI 64, and the cleanest in Kourou, at AQI 48.
None of the 3 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 33% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 54
Moderate
US EPA index, across 3 cities
- cities measured
- 3
- worst air: Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
- 64
- cleanest air: Kourou
- 48
- average tree cover
- 38.1%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
French Guiana · average AQI 54
Air quality right now in all 3 cities in French Guiana
Moderate
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
2 km around Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
Air quality now
AQI 64
42.4%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Kourou
2 km around Kourou 97310
Air quality now
AQI 48
23.4%
tree cover
13.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across French Guiana today?
None of the 3 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 33% have Good air. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
3 measured cities
- Good1 (33%)
- Moderate2 (67%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How does French Guiana compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of French Guiana average cleaner air than 46% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 84%.
Cleaner air than…
- French Guiana
- Beats 46%
More tree cover than…
- French Guiana
- Beats 84%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has French Guiana lost?
Since 2001, French Guiana has lost about 97,700 hectares of forest (about 140,000 football pitches): 1.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 97,700 haabout 140,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 66,800 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 | 1,880 ha | 1,190 ha | 3,070 ha |
| 2002 | 1,520 ha | 982 ha | 2,500 ha |
| 2003 | 1,280 ha | 622 ha | 1,900 ha |
| 2004 | 3,430 ha | 1,400 ha | 4,820 ha |
| 2005 | 2,170 ha | 678 ha | 2,850 ha |
| 2006 | 1,910 ha | 634 ha | 2,540 ha |
| 2007 | 2,650 ha | 694 ha | 3,340 ha |
| 2008 | 3,800 ha | 1,450 ha | 5,250 ha |
| 2009 | 2,030 ha | 876 ha | 2,900 ha |
| 2010 | 2,240 ha | 929 ha | 3,170 ha |
| 2011 | 1,860 ha | 870 ha | 2,730 ha |
| 2012 | 5,060 ha | 4,890 ha | 9,940 ha |
| 2013 | 2,110 ha | 953 ha | 3,060 ha |
| 2014 | 3,000 ha | 1,300 ha | 4,300 ha |
| 2015 | 2,270 ha | 701 ha | 2,970 ha |
| 2016 | 4,590 ha | 1,700 ha | 6,290 ha |
| 2017 | 3,090 ha | 1,150 ha | 4,240 ha |
| 2018 | 2,850 ha | 1,110 ha | 3,960 ha |
| 2019 | 2,530 ha | 1,030 ha | 3,560 ha |
| 2020 | 3,080 ha | 1,350 ha | 4,430 ha |
| 2021 | 1,620 ha | 649 ha | 2,270 ha |
| 2022 | 2,560 ha | 1,430 ha | 3,990 ha |
| 2023 | 3,680 ha | 1,560 ha | 5,240 ha |
| 2024 | 3,000 ha | 1,410 ha | 4,400 ha |
| 2025 | 2,630 ha | 1,380 ha | 4,000 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 3,980 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 4,500 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2012, when about 9,940 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in French Guiana?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good50% · 49,200 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good15% · 14,500 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back13% · 12,500 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, logging, 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
Build your own
Compare French Guiana with another country
This place
French Guiana
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in French Guiana
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 French Guiana: your questions answered
What is the air quality in French Guiana today?
Right now the 3 cities Airleaf measures in French Guiana average AQI 54 (moderate). The worst air is in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, at AQI 64, and the cleanest in Kourou, at AQI 48. None of the 3 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 33% have Good air.
Which city in French Guiana has the worst air right now?
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, at AQI 64 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in French Guiana has the cleanest air right now?
Kourou, at AQI 48 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever French Guiana has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in French Guiana safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 1 city is Good, 2 cities are Moderate. At the national average of AQI 54: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
How much forest has French Guiana lost since 2001?
About 97,700 ha from 2001 to 2025, 1% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 66,800 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in French Guiana?
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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