City report · California, United States
Escondido Air quality today
Air quality in Escondido currently reads AQI 20 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 20
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 3.6
- tree cover
- 9.0%
- trees in this area
- 28.3K
- more trees needed
- 66.0K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Central Escondido, Escondido, CA, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 14, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Escondido · AQI 20 (Good)
Escondido's tree count comes to 28,274 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), 21 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 65,973 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Escondido today: AQI 20, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 06:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · San Diego - Rancho C, 9.3 mi (14.9 km) away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
3.6
PM10
11.0
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirNow
- 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 Escondido's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 31 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 79 on Nov 4.
Where Escondido stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Escondido: Critically low
9.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
28,274
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
65,973
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,451 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Escondido lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Escondido has lost about 1,630 acres (660 hectares) of forest (about 1,200 football fields): 33% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (55%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,630 acres (660 ha)about 1,200 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 33%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 895 acres (362 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 321 acres (130 hectares) of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 34 acres (14 ha) | under 1 ha | 35 acres (14 ha) |
| 2002 | 35 acres (14 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 37 acres (15 ha) |
| 2003 | 79 acres (32 ha) | 128 acres (52 ha) | 206 acres (84 ha) |
| 2004 | 42 acres (17 ha) | 34 acres (14 ha) | 76 acres (31 ha) |
| 2005 | 12 acres (5 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 17 acres (7 ha) |
| 2006 | 68 acres (28 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 71 acres (29 ha) |
| 2007 | 95 acres (39 ha) | 226 acres (91 ha) | 321 acres (130 ha) |
| 2008 | 110 acres (45 ha) | 58 acres (23 ha) | 168 acres (68 ha) |
| 2009 | 14 acres (6 ha) | under 1 ha | 15 acres (6 ha) |
| 2010 | 119 acres (48 ha) | 20 acres (8 ha) | 138 acres (56 ha) |
| 2011 | 3 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2012 | 17 acres (7 ha) | under 1 ha | 18 acres (7 ha) |
| 2013 | 5 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2014 | 48 acres (20 ha) | 238 acres (97 ha) | 287 acres (116 ha) |
| 2015 | 31 acres (13 ha) | under 1 ha | 32 acres (13 ha) |
| 2016 | 29 acres (12 ha) | under 1 ha | 30 acres (12 ha) |
| 2017 | 50 acres (20 ha) | under 1 ha | 51 acres (21 ha) |
| 2018 | 35 acres (14 ha) | under 1 ha | 35 acres (14 ha) |
| 2019 | 14 acres (6 ha) | under 1 ha | 14 acres (6 ha) |
| 2020 | 30 acres (12 ha) | under 1 ha | 31 acres (13 ha) |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) | 6 acres (2 ha) |
| 2022 | 11 acres (4 ha) | 8 acres (3 ha) | 19 acres (8 ha) |
| 2023 | 6 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2024 | 6 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Escondido?
- Wildfirescan grow back42% · 680 acres (275 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good35% · 578 acres (234 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good18% · 292 acres (118 ha)
Also: logging, mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 23,200 acres (9,390 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 23,500 acres (9,530 ha)
- Overall change
- +339 acres (137 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Escondido stayed about the same size, at about 23,500 acres (9,530 hectares): new forest grew on about 1,270 acres (514 hectares), and about 932 acres (377 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 Escondido
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Vista17.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 39
- Oceanside28.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 51
- El Cajon37.9 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 21
- Temecula42.0 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 9
- San Diego45.5 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 22
- Murrieta49.8 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 23
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Frequently asked
Questions about Escondido
What is the air quality (AQI) in Escondido right now?
The latest reading for Escondido shows an AQI of 20 (Good), measured Nov 11, 06:00 local time by the San Diego - Rancho C ground monitoring station, 9.3 mi (14.9 km) away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Escondido today?
At AQI 20 (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 Escondido been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Escondido's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 31 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 79 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Escondido lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Escondido has lost about 1,630 acres (660 hectares) of forest (about 1,200 football fields): 33% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (55%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Escondido stayed about the same size, at about 23,500 acres (9,530 hectares): new forest grew on about 1,270 acres (514 hectares), and about 932 acres (377 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Escondido?
Escondido has an estimated 28,274 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 9.0% tree cover, 21 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Escondido need?
Escondido needs roughly 65,973 more trees to close a 21-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,451 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Escondido's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Central Escondido, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Central Escondido; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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