City report · New Mexico, United States
Las Cruces Air quality today
Air quality in Las Cruces currently reads AQI 15 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 15
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.7
- tree cover
- 2.4%
- trees in this area
- 7.5K
- more trees needed
- 86.7K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Las Cruces, NM, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 12, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Las Cruces · AQI 15 (Good)
Las Cruces's tree count comes to 7,540 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), 28 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 86,708 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Las Cruces today: AQI 15, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 17:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 85 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 52.8 mi (85 km), e.g. El Paso and Juárez
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.7
PM10
5.5
NO₂
1.9
O₃
99.0
SO₂
0.5
CO
146.0
- 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 Las Cruces's daily AQI at 23 on average, from 8 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 66 on Nov 10.
Where Las Cruces stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Las Cruces: Critically low
2.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
7,540
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
86,708
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,908 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Las Cruces lost?
Almost no forest has been lost around Las Cruces since 2001: less than 1 hectare of the 1,860 acres (754 hectares) there in 2000.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 954 acres (386 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 855 acres (346 ha)
- Overall change
- −99 acres (40 ha)less forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Las Cruces shrank from about 954 acres (386 hectares) to 855 acres (346 hectares), a net loss of about 99 acres (40 hectares) (−10%). New forest grew on about 42 acres (17 hectares), but 142 acres (58 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 Las Cruces
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- El Paso67.4 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 1%
- Air quality
- 66
- Ciudad Juárez72.3 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 2%
- Air quality
- 69
- Albuquerque308.5 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 65
- Tucson390.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 13
- Nogales408.9 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 85
- Chihuahua414.2 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 63
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Frequently asked
Questions about Las Cruces
What is the air quality (AQI) in Las Cruces right now?
The latest reading for Las Cruces shows an AQI of 15 (Good), observed Nov 10, 17:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 85 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Las Cruces today?
At AQI 15 (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 Las Cruces been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Las Cruces's daily AQI at 23 on average, from 8 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 66 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Las Cruces lost since 2001?
Almost no forest has been lost around Las Cruces since 2001: less than 1 hectare of the 1,860 acres (754 hectares) there in 2000. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Las Cruces shrank from about 954 acres (386 hectares) to 855 acres (346 hectares), a net loss of about 99 acres (40 hectares) (−10%). New forest grew on about 42 acres (17 hectares), but 142 acres (58 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Las Cruces?
Las Cruces has an estimated 7,540 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 2.4% tree cover, 28 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Las Cruces need?
Las Cruces needs roughly 86,708 more trees to close a 28-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,908 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Las Cruces'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 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Las Cruces; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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