City report · Andalusia, Spain
Málaga Air quality today
Air quality in Málaga currently reads AQI 46 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 46
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.2
- tree cover
- 15.4%
- trees in this area
- 36.6K
- more trees needed
- 34.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Centro Histórico, Distrito Centro, Málaga, Spain (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Málaga · AQI 46 (Good)
Málaga's tree count comes to 36,624 trees across 9.52 km² of land, 15 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 34,722 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Málaga today: AQI 46, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · CAMPANILLAS CIFA, 12.6 km away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.2
PM10
17.5
NO₂
34.0
O₃
—
SO₂
4.5
CO
616.0
Data: OpenAQ · EEA
- 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 Málaga's daily AQI at 40 on average, from 34 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 56 on Nov 6.
Where Málaga stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Málaga: Critically low
15.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.52 km² of land.
Trees in this area
36,624
Target trees
71,346
More trees needed
34,722
CO₂ if planted / yr
763.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Málaga lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Málaga has lost about 24 hectares of forest (about 34 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was wildfires (23%), after which forest can grow back. About 9 hectares (37%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 24 haabout 34 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- under 1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 9 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2020, when about 4 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 2 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2015 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 4 ha | 4 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Málaga?
- Wildfirescan grow back23% · 6 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good20% · 5 ha
- Loggingcan grow back17% · 4 ha
Also: towns and roads, mining and energy, 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
- 4,040 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 4,100 ha
- Overall change
- +63 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Málaga stayed about the same size, at about 4,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 90 hectares, and about 27 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Málaga
What is the air quality (AQI) in Málaga right now?
The latest reading for Málaga shows an AQI of 46 (Good), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is CAMPANILLAS CIFA, 12.6 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Málaga today?
At AQI 46 (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 Málaga been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Málaga's daily AQI at 40 on average, from 34 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 56 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Málaga lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Málaga has lost about 24 hectares of forest (about 34 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. The biggest cause was wildfires (23%), after which forest can grow back. About 9 hectares (37%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Málaga stayed about the same size, at about 4,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 90 hectares, and about 27 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Málaga?
Málaga has an estimated 36,624 trees across the 9.52 km² of land measured — 15.4% tree cover, 15 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Málaga need?
Málaga needs roughly 34,722 more trees to close a 15-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 763.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Málaga's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Centro Histórico, 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 2 km radius around Centro Histórico; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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