Lima
2 km around Rimac
Air quality now
AQI 60
1.1%
tree cover
90.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
South America · air quality report · 21 cities
Peru air quality today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now the 21 cities Airleaf measures in Peru average AQI 35 (good). The worst air is in Arequipa, at AQI 76, and the cleanest in Cusco, at AQI 4.
None of the 21 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 76% have Good air.
Average right now
AQI 35
Good
US EPA index, across 21 cities
- cities measured
- 21
- worst air: Arequipa
- 76
- cleanest air: Cusco
- 4
- average tree cover
- 5.0%
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Peru · average AQI 35
Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in Peru
Moderate
Arequipa
2 km around Historical Centre of Arequipa
Air quality now
AQI 76
5.7%
tree cover
76.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Trujillo
2 km around Historic Centre of Trujillo
Air quality now
AQI 52
4.7%
tree cover
79.5K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Piura
2 km around Urb Industrial
Air quality now
AQI 36
3.4%
tree cover
83.6K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Chiclayo
2 km around Urb Patazca
Air quality now
AQI 44
2.0%
tree cover
88.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Callao
2 km around Santa Maria Norte
Air quality now
AQI 62
2.9%
tree cover
71.5K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Huancayo
2 km around Zona Monumental Huancayo
Air quality now
AQI 23
2.0%
tree cover
88.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Cusco
2 km around Ttio
Air quality now
AQI 4
1.9%
tree cover
88.3K more trees would reach 30% tree cover
Across the country
How clean is the air across Peru today?
None of the 21 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 76% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
21 measured cities
- Good16 (76%)
- Moderate5 (24%)
Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.
In aggregate
Peru 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 21 of 21 cities measured so far in Peru.
- Average air quality
- AQI 35Mean of the latest reading per city
- Average tree cover
- 5.0%21 of 21 below their target
- Trees counted
- 323KAcross every measured area
- More trees needed
- 1.6MTo bring each area to its target
Worst air quality right now
Cleanest air right now
Greenest cities in Peru
Least tree cover in Peru
Excludes barren and desert sites
Against everywhere else
How does Peru compare with other countries?
Right now the cities of Peru average cleaner air than 81% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 9%.
Cleaner air than…
- Peru
- Beats 81%
More tree cover than…
- Peru
- Beats 9%
See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Peru lost?
Since 2001, Peru has lost about 4.61 million hectares of forest (about 46,000 km²): 5.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (66%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 4.61 million haabout 46,000 km²
- Share of its forest
- 5.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 3.05 million 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 | 57,100 ha | 28,900 ha | 86,000 ha |
| 2002 | 58,100 ha | 22,600 ha | 80,700 ha |
| 2003 | 53,900 ha | 20,100 ha | 74,000 ha |
| 2004 | 68,800 ha | 32,800 ha | 102,000 ha |
| 2005 | 119,000 ha | 44,100 ha | 163,000 ha |
| 2006 | 59,000 ha | 30,000 ha | 89,000 ha |
| 2007 | 81,800 ha | 34,000 ha | 116,000 ha |
| 2008 | 86,100 ha | 40,600 ha | 127,000 ha |
| 2009 | 128,000 ha | 50,600 ha | 178,000 ha |
| 2010 | 98,900 ha | 43,800 ha | 143,000 ha |
| 2011 | 84,400 ha | 41,200 ha | 126,000 ha |
| 2012 | 191,000 ha | 85,300 ha | 276,000 ha |
| 2013 | 141,000 ha | 69,300 ha | 210,000 ha |
| 2014 | 139,000 ha | 66,800 ha | 206,000 ha |
| 2015 | 110,000 ha | 56,800 ha | 167,000 ha |
| 2016 | 151,000 ha | 80,600 ha | 232,000 ha |
| 2017 | 188,000 ha | 116,000 ha | 304,000 ha |
| 2018 | 142,000 ha | 70,000 ha | 212,000 ha |
| 2019 | 158,000 ha | 73,900 ha | 232,000 ha |
| 2020 | 182,000 ha | 96,600 ha | 279,000 ha |
| 2021 | 152,000 ha | 73,300 ha | 225,000 ha |
| 2022 | 150,000 ha | 86,500 ha | 237,000 ha |
| 2023 | 144,000 ha | 84,100 ha | 228,000 ha |
| 2024 | 154,000 ha | 114,000 ha | 269,000 ha |
| 2025 | 147,000 ha | 103,000 ha | 250,000 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 242,000 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 252,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 304,000 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Peru?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good63% · 2.9 million ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back18% · 849,000 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back8.8% · 405,000 ha
Also: logging, mining and energy, wildfires, towns and roads, 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
Peru as a whole
52.7% of Peru 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).
Browse by region
Full directory
Every city we track in Peru
21 cities, A–Z
L
No city matches “”. Any address still works on the map.
Build your own
Compare Peru with another country
This place
Peru
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Peru
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 Peru: your questions answered
What is the air quality in Peru today?
Right now the 21 cities Airleaf measures in Peru average AQI 35 (good). The worst air is in Arequipa, at AQI 76, and the cleanest in Cusco, at AQI 4. None of the 21 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 76% have Good air.
Which city in Peru has the worst air right now?
Arequipa, at AQI 76 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which city in Peru has the cleanest air right now?
Cusco, at AQI 4 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Peru has at least three cities with one.
Is the air in Peru safe to breathe today?
It depends on the city. 16 cities are Good, 5 cities are Moderate. At the national average of AQI 35: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has Peru lost since 2001?
About 4.61 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. 3.05 million ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which city in Peru has the most trees?
Pucallpa, with 21.0% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.
How does Airleaf measure air quality in Peru?
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.
More of South America
Your own street