City report · Mérida, Venezuela
Mérida Air quality today
Air quality in Mérida currently reads AQI 27 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 27
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.5
- tree cover
- 43.3%
- trees in this area
- 136K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Pie del Llano, Mérida, Venezuela (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Mérida · AQI 27 (Good)
Mérida's tree count comes to 136,031 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 Mérida today: AQI 27, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 05:00 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
4.5
PM10
4.5
NO₂
4.4
O₃
24.0
SO₂
0.2
CO
305.0
- 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 Mérida's daily AQI at 21 on average, from 14 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 37 on Nov 6.
Where Mérida stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Mérida: Healthy tree cover
43.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
136,031
Target trees
136,031
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Mérida lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mérida has lost about 337 hectares of forest (about 470 football pitches): 1.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 337 haabout 470 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 298 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2012, when about 35 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 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2002 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2003 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2004 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2005 | 23 ha | 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2006 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2007 | 28 ha | 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2008 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2009 | 19 ha | 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2010 | 12 ha | 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2011 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 11 ha |
| 2012 | 28 ha | 7 ha | 35 ha |
| 2013 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2014 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2017 | 13 ha | 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2018 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2019 | 10 ha | 5 ha | 15 ha |
| 2020 | 20 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 15 ha | 14 ha | 29 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Mérida?
- Towns and roadscleared for good48% · 163 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good36% · 121 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back4.2% · 14 ha
Also: mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 24,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 24,200 ha
- Overall change
- −150 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mérida stayed about the same size, at about 24,200 hectares: new forest grew on about 32 hectares, and about 181 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 Mérida
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- El Vigía53.8 km
Venezuela
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 43
- San Carlos del Zulia95.6 km
Venezuela
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 56
- Valera103.0 km
Venezuela
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 55
- Barinas103.3 km
Venezuela
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 35
- San Cristóbal148.2 km
Venezuela
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 24
- Cúcuta164.9 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 52
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Frequently asked
Questions about Mérida
What is the air quality (AQI) in Mérida right now?
The latest reading for Mérida shows an AQI of 27 (Good), observed Nov 11, 05:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Mérida today?
At AQI 27 (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 Mérida been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Mérida's daily AQI at 21 on average, from 14 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 37 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 Mérida lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Mérida has lost about 337 hectares of forest (about 470 football pitches): 1.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Mérida stayed about the same size, at about 24,200 hectares: new forest grew on about 32 hectares, and about 181 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Mérida?
Mérida has an estimated 136,031 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 43.3% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Mérida need?
Mérida has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Mérida'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 Pie del Llano; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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