- Tree cover
- 22.4%
- Air quality
- 35Good
- Trees in this area
- 60.1K
- More trees needed
- 20.4K
- Area analyzed
- 10.73 km²land, in a 12.57 km² circle
- Satellite image
- May 14, 2026
Masaya's tree count comes to 60,097 trees across 10.73 km² of land — 8 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, meaning roughly 20,390 more trees would close the gap. Air quality currently reads AQI 35 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Masaya: Below target
22.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 10.73 km² of land.
Trees in this area
60,097
Target trees
80,487
More trees needed
20,390
CO₂ if planted / yr
448.6 t
Air quality detail
Air quality in Masaya today: AQI 35, Good
Observed Oct 19, 08:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
—
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Masaya lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Masaya has lost about 321 hectares of forest (about 450 football pitches): 1.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (86%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city centre.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 321 haabout 450 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 276 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2006, when about 51 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 | 4 ha | 38 ha |
| 2002 | 2 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2004 | 13 ha | 3 ha | 16 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 45 ha | 6 ha | 51 ha |
| 2007 | 7 ha | 2 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 14 ha |
| 2010 | 12 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2011 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2012 | 32 ha | 6 ha | 38 ha |
| 2013 | 11 ha | 3 ha | 13 ha |
| 2014 | 8 ha | 2 ha | 10 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | 41 ha | 4 ha | 44 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | 8 ha | 4 ha | 12 ha |
| 2020 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2021 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2022 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Masaya?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good73% · 234 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good13% · 41 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back5.4% · 17 ha
Also: 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
- 20,500 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 20,100 ha
- Overall change
- −358 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Masaya stayed about the same size, at about 20,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 211 hectares, and about 569 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 centre, 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 Masaya
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- León99.4 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 33
- Matagalpa107.9 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 55%
- Air quality
- 22
- Estelí127.7 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 16
- Chinandega134.1 km
Nicaragua
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 23
- Liberia165.2 km
Costa Rica
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 12
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Frequently asked
Questions about Masaya
What is the tree count in Masaya?
Masaya has an estimated 60,097 trees across the 10.73 km² of land measured — 22.4% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Masaya need?
Masaya needs roughly 20,390 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 448.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
What is the air quality (AQI) in Masaya right now?
The latest reading for Masaya shows an AQI of 35 (Good), observed Oct 19, 08:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has the area around Masaya lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Masaya has lost about 321 hectares of forest (about 450 football pitches): 1.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (86%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Masaya stayed about the same size, at about 20,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 211 hectares, and about 569 hectares were lost.
How is Masaya's tree cover and air quality measured?
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 Masaya; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover. 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.
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