City report · Nicaragua
Estelí Air quality today
Air quality in Estelí currently reads AQI 19 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 19
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 3.2
- tree cover
- 13.0%
- trees in this area
- 40.8K
- more trees needed
- 53.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Esteli, Nicaragua (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of May 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Estelí · AQI 19 (Good)
Estelí's tree count comes to 40,841 trees across 12.57 km², 17 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 53,407 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Estelí today: AQI 19, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 03:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 145 km, e.g. Managua and Masaya
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
3.2
PM10
2.1
NO₂
5.3
O₃
18.0
SO₂
0.6
CO
111.0
- 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 Estelí's daily AQI at 22 on average, from 14 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 5.
Where Estelí stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Estelí: Critically low
13.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
40,841
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
53,407
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,175 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Estelí lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Estelí has lost about 444 hectares of forest (about 620 football pitches): 2.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 444 haabout 620 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 2.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 387 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 53 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 | 34 ha | 19 ha | 53 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | 34 ha | 5 ha | 39 ha |
| 2004 | 17 ha | 2 ha | 19 ha |
| 2005 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2007 | 38 ha | 2 ha | 40 ha |
| 2008 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2009 | 12 ha | 2 ha | 14 ha |
| 2010 | 19 ha | 4 ha | 23 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 50 ha | 3 ha | 53 ha |
| 2013 | 11 ha | 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2014 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2017 | 28 ha | 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2018 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2020 | 19 ha | 2 ha | 22 ha |
| 2021 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2022 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 11 ha |
| 2023 | 9 ha | 4 ha | 13 ha |
| 2024 | 22 ha | 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2025 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Estelí?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good86% · 381 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back5.5% · 24 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back2.5% · 11 ha
Also: towns and roads, logging, 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
- 18,600 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 18,500 ha
- Overall change
- −96 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Estelí stayed about the same size, at about 18,500 hectares: new forest grew on about 152 hectares, and about 247 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 Estelí
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- León92.5 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 46
- Chinandega98.6 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 55
- Managua107.4 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 43
- Danlí107.4 km
Honduras
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 14
- Masaya127.7 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 43
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Frequently asked
Questions about Estelí
What is the air quality (AQI) in Estelí right now?
The latest reading for Estelí shows an AQI of 19 (Good), observed Nov 11, 03:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Estelí today?
At AQI 19 (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 Estelí been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Estelí's daily AQI at 22 on average, from 14 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 55 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 Estelí lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Estelí has lost about 444 hectares of forest (about 620 football pitches): 2.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Estelí stayed about the same size, at about 18,500 hectares: new forest grew on about 152 hectares, and about 247 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Estelí?
Estelí has an estimated 40,841 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 13.0% tree cover, 17 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Estelí need?
Estelí needs roughly 53,407 more trees to close a 17-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,175 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Estelí'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 Esteli; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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