City report · Nicaragua
Managua Air quality today
Air quality in Managua currently reads AQI 31 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 31
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 5.5
- tree cover
- 17.7%
- trees in this area
- 55.6K
- more trees needed
- 38.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Barrio Riguero, Managua, Nicaragua (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Managua · AQI 31 (Good)
Managua's tree count comes to 55,606 trees across 12.57 km², 12 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 38,642 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Managua today: AQI 31, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Managua, Nicaragua - Sustenta Honduras, 14.1 km away
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
5.5
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Sustenta Honduras
- 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 Managua's daily AQI at 27 on average, from 18 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 58 on Nov 4.
Where Managua stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Managua: Critically low
17.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
55,606
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
38,642
CO₂ if planted / yr
850.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Managua lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Managua has lost about 263 hectares of forest (about 370 football pitches): 3.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (96%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 263 haabout 370 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 252 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2006, when about 31 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 | 18 ha | 2 ha | 20 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2004 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2005 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2006 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 31 ha |
| 2007 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2008 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2009 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2010 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2011 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2012 | 17 ha | 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2013 | 14 ha | 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2014 | 25 ha | 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2016 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2017 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2022 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Managua?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good56% · 147 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good39% · 104 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown4.4% · 12 ha
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
- 8,920 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 8,590 ha
- Overall change
- −327 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Managua shrank from about 8,920 hectares to 8,590 hectares, a net loss of about 327 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 207 hectares, but 533 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 Managua
What is the air quality (AQI) in Managua right now?
The latest reading for Managua shows an AQI of 31 (Good), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by the Managua, Nicaragua - Sustenta Honduras ground monitoring station, 14.1 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Managua today?
At AQI 31 (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 Managua been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Managua's daily AQI at 27 on average, from 18 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 58 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 Managua lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Managua has lost about 263 hectares of forest (about 370 football pitches): 3.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (96%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Managua shrank from about 8,920 hectares to 8,590 hectares, a net loss of about 327 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 207 hectares, but 533 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Managua?
Managua has an estimated 55,606 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 17.7% tree cover, 12 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Managua need?
Managua needs roughly 38,642 more trees to close a 12-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 850.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Managua's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Barrio Riguero, 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 Barrio Riguero; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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