City report · Ecuador
Cuenca Air quality today
Air quality in Cuenca currently reads AQI 24 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 24
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.1
- tree cover
- 4.8%
- trees in this area
- 15.1K
- more trees needed
- 79.2K
Measured across a 2 km radius around El Sagrario, Cuenca, Ecuador (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 7, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cuenca · AQI 24 (Good)
Cuenca's tree count comes to 15,080 trees across 12.57 km², 25 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 79,168 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cuenca today: AQI 24, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 13:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.1
PM10
4.2
NO₂
0.8
O₃
66.0
SO₂
1.1
CO
160.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cuenca's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 22 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 62 on Nov 5.
Where Cuenca stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cuenca: Critically low
4.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
15,080
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
79,168
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,742 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cuenca lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cuenca has lost about 625 hectares of forest (about 880 football pitches): 7.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (72%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from November 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 625 haabout 880 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 7.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 448 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 109 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 46 ha | 12 ha | 58 ha |
| 2002 | 16 ha | 4 ha | 20 ha |
| 2003 | 11 ha | 4 ha | 14 ha |
| 2004 | 34 ha | 17 ha | 51 ha |
| 2005 | 8 ha | 6 ha | 14 ha |
| 2006 | 37 ha | 11 ha | 48 ha |
| 2007 | 17 ha | 5 ha | 23 ha |
| 2008 | 41 ha | 16 ha | 56 ha |
| 2009 | 72 ha | 37 ha | 109 ha |
| 2010 | 12 ha | 12 ha | 24 ha |
| 2011 | 12 ha | 4 ha | 15 ha |
| 2012 | 14 ha | 6 ha | 20 ha |
| 2013 | 16 ha | 4 ha | 20 ha |
| 2014 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 10 ha |
| 2015 | 8 ha | 4 ha | 12 ha |
| 2016 | 18 ha | 6 ha | 24 ha |
| 2017 | 23 ha | 5 ha | 28 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2020 | 10 ha | 2 ha | 12 ha |
| 2021 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2022 | 7 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2023 | 4 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2024 | 14 ha | 6 ha | 20 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Cuenca?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good43% · 269 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good29% · 179 ha
- Loggingcan grow back25% · 156 ha
Also: unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 8,060 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,140 ha
- Overall change
- +74 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cuenca stayed about the same size, at about 8,140 hectares: new forest grew on about 371 hectares, and about 296 hectares were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
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. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Cuenca
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Milagro107.5 km
Ecuador
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 18
- Loja124.2 km
Ecuador
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 21
- Riobamba141.8 km
Ecuador
- Tree cover
- 3%
- Air quality
- 28
- Daule158.5 km
Ecuador
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 16
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Frequently asked
Questions about Cuenca
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cuenca right now?
The latest reading for Cuenca shows an AQI of 24 (Good), observed Nov 10, 13:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Cuenca today?
At AQI 24 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Cuenca been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cuenca's daily AQI at 30 on average, from 22 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 62 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Cuenca lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cuenca has lost about 625 hectares of forest (about 880 football pitches): 7.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (72%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cuenca stayed about the same size, at about 8,140 hectares: new forest grew on about 371 hectares, and about 296 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Cuenca?
Cuenca has an estimated 15,080 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 4.8% tree cover, 25 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cuenca need?
Cuenca needs roughly 79,168 more trees to close a 25-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,742 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Cuenca's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around El Sagrario; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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