Panama City
2 km around Obarrio
Air quality now
AQI 37
13.9%
tree cover
50.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
North America · air quality report · 6 cities
Panama air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 6 cities Airleaf measures in Panama average AQI 34 (good). The worst air is in San Miguelito, at AQI 48, and the cleanest in David, at AQI 27.
None of the 6 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 34
Good
US EPA index, across 6 cities
- cities measured
- 6
- worst air: San Miguelito
- 48
- cleanest air: David
- 27
- average tree cover
- 26.0%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Panama · average AQI 34
Air quality right now in all 6 cities in Panama
Good
David
2 km around Barrio El Carmen
Air quality now
AQI 27
28.7%
tree cover
4.1K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Colón
2 km around Colón
Air quality now
AQI 31
7.8%
tree cover
26.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
La Chorrera
2 km around La Chorrera
Air quality now
AQI 33
34.7%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
Santiago de Veraguas
2 km around Santiago
Air quality now
AQI 27
52.2%
tree cover
Healthy tree cover
San Miguelito
2 km around La Castellana
Air quality now
AQI 48
18.8%
tree cover
35.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Panama today?
None of the 6 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
6 measured cities
- Good6 (100%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
Against everywhere else
How does Panama compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Panama average cleaner air than 79% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 55%.
Cleaner air than…
- Panama
- Beats 79%
More tree cover than…
- Panama
- Beats 55%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Panama lost?
Since 2001, Panama has lost about 545,000 hectares of forest (about 5,500 km²): 9.7% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (82%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 545,000 haabout 5,500 km²
- Share of its forest
- 9.7%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 446,000 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 | 16,000 ha | 2,200 ha | 18,200 ha |
| 2002 | 17,100 ha | 2,050 ha | 19,200 ha |
| 2003 | 9,820 ha | 1,400 ha | 11,200 ha |
| 2004 | 14,200 ha | 2,540 ha | 16,700 ha |
| 2005 | 10,800 ha | 1,510 ha | 12,300 ha |
| 2006 | 31,600 ha | 2,610 ha | 34,200 ha |
| 2007 | 18,300 ha | 2,330 ha | 20,600 ha |
| 2008 | 36,500 ha | 3,230 ha | 39,700 ha |
| 2009 | 33,800 ha | 3,110 ha | 36,900 ha |
| 2010 | 13,300 ha | 2,040 ha | 15,300 ha |
| 2011 | 19,800 ha | 3,220 ha | 23,000 ha |
| 2012 | 14,100 ha | 2,870 ha | 17,000 ha |
| 2013 | 10,900 ha | 2,990 ha | 13,800 ha |
| 2014 | 11,400 ha | 2,480 ha | 13,800 ha |
| 2015 | 8,740 ha | 1,720 ha | 10,500 ha |
| 2016 | 11,600 ha | 5,560 ha | 17,200 ha |
| 2017 | 24,000 ha | 6,840 ha | 30,800 ha |
| 2018 | 20,400 ha | 7,420 ha | 27,800 ha |
| 2019 | 25,900 ha | 7,870 ha | 33,800 ha |
| 2020 | 19,000 ha | 8,090 ha | 27,100 ha |
| 2021 | 18,400 ha | 5,820 ha | 24,300 ha |
| 2022 | 12,400 ha | 4,820 ha | 17,200 ha |
| 2023 | 19,000 ha | 5,930 ha | 24,900 ha |
| 2024 | 15,700 ha | 5,600 ha | 21,300 ha |
| 2025 | 13,700 ha | 4,730 ha | 18,400 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 21,200 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 27,300 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2008, when about 39,700 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Panama?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good80% · 437,000 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back16% · 86,400 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good1.1% · 5,810 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, mining and energy, logging, 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
Panama as a whole
62.2% of Panama 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 Panama with another country
This place
Panama
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Panama
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 Panama: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Panama today?
Right now the 6 cities Airleaf measures in Panama average AQI 34 (good). The worst air is in San Miguelito, at AQI 48, and the cleanest in David, at AQI 27. None of the 6 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 100% have Good air.
Which city in Panama has the worst air right now?
San Miguelito, at AQI 48 (Good) on the US EPA index. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which city in Panama has the cleanest air right now?
David, at AQI 27 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Panama has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Panama safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 6 cities are Good. At the national average of AQI 34: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has Panama lost since 2001?
About 545,000 ha from 2001 to 2025, 10% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 446,000 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Panama?
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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