City report · Jamaica
May Pen Air quality today
Air quality in May Pen currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 53
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.9
- tree cover
- 46.9%
- trees in this area
- 147K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around May Pen, Jamaica (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
May Pen · AQI 53 (Moderate)
May Pen's tree count comes to 147,341 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in May Pen today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 06:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.9
PM10
11.6
NO₂
12.2
O₃
22.0
SO₂
2.3
CO
299.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
- Windows
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
- Mask
- Not needed for most people
- Air purifier
- Worth running if you are sensitive
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put May Pen's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 30 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 74 on Nov 6.
Where May Pen stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in May Pen: Healthy tree cover
46.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
147,341
Target trees
147,341
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has May Pen lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of May Pen has lost about 1,280 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,280 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 724 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2005, when about 227 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 | 8 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2002 | 13 ha | 11 ha | 24 ha |
| 2003 | 18 ha | 6 ha | 24 ha |
| 2004 | 50 ha | 39 ha | 89 ha |
| 2005 | 50 ha | 177 ha | 227 ha |
| 2006 | 18 ha | 14 ha | 32 ha |
| 2007 | 20 ha | 5 ha | 24 ha |
| 2008 | 9 ha | 8 ha | 17 ha |
| 2009 | 30 ha | 41 ha | 71 ha |
| 2010 | 65 ha | 9 ha | 74 ha |
| 2011 | 52 ha | 7 ha | 59 ha |
| 2012 | 11 ha | 13 ha | 24 ha |
| 2013 | 17 ha | 8 ha | 25 ha |
| 2014 | 114 ha | 64 ha | 178 ha |
| 2015 | 24 ha | 14 ha | 38 ha |
| 2016 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2017 | 18 ha | 12 ha | 30 ha |
| 2018 | 17 ha | 11 ha | 27 ha |
| 2019 | 45 ha | 16 ha | 61 ha |
| 2020 | 23 ha | 20 ha | 43 ha |
| 2021 | 31 ha | 22 ha | 53 ha |
| 2022 | 16 ha | 17 ha | 32 ha |
| 2023 | 23 ha | 10 ha | 33 ha |
| 2024 | 19 ha | 16 ha | 35 ha |
| 2025 | 28 ha | 11 ha | 39 ha |
What is causing deforestation around May Pen?
- Shifting farmingcan grow back40% · 509 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good30% · 390 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good24% · 310 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 17,200 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 17,300 ha
- Overall change
- +154 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around May Pen stayed about the same size, at about 17,300 hectares: new forest grew on about 454 hectares, and about 300 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 May Pen
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Spanish Town30.6 km
Jamaica
- Tree cover
- 37%
- Air quality
- 26
- Ocho Rios51.5 km
Jamaica
- Tree cover
- 60%
- Air quality
- 41
- Manzanillo264.7 km
Cuba
- Tree cover
- 52%
- Air quality
- 14
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Frequently asked
Questions about May Pen
What is the air quality (AQI) in May Pen right now?
The latest reading for May Pen shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 06:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in May Pen today?
At AQI 53 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in May Pen been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put May Pen's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 30 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 74 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 May Pen lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of May Pen has lost about 1,280 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around May Pen stayed about the same size, at about 17,300 hectares: new forest grew on about 454 hectares, and about 300 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in May Pen?
May Pen has an estimated 147,341 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 46.9% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does May Pen need?
May Pen has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are May Pen'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 May Pen; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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