City report · Nuevo León, Mexico
Monterrey Air quality today
Air quality in Monterrey currently reads AQI 120 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 120
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 43.2
- tree cover
- 4.6%
- trees in this area
- 14.5K
- more trees needed
- 95.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Centro, Monterrey, N.L., Mexico (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 20, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Monterrey · AQI 120 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Monterrey's tree count comes to 14,451 trees across 12.57 km², 30 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 95,504 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Monterrey today: AQI 120, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Monterrey, Centro, 1 km away
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
43.2
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, BioLets
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Monterrey's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 38 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 82 on Nov 5.
Where Monterrey stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Monterrey: Critically low
4.6% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
14,451
Target trees
109,955
More trees needed
95,504
CO₂ if planted / yr
2,101 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Monterrey lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Monterrey has lost about 196 hectares of forest (about 280 football pitches): 3.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2018: satellite photo from August 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 196 haabout 280 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 173 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2002, when about 37 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 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2002 | 35 ha | 2 ha | 37 ha |
| 2003 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2004 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2005 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2006 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 10 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2011 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2012 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2013 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2014 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 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 | 2 ha | 12 ha | 13 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Monterrey?
- Towns and roadscleared for good88% · 173 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back5.8% · 11 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back1.6% · 3 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
- 6,070 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,940 ha
- Overall change
- −126 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Monterrey shrank from about 6,070 hectares to 5,940 hectares, a net loss of about 126 hectares (−2.1%). New forest grew on about 76 hectares, but 203 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 Monterrey
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Ciudad General Escobedo12.5 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 8%
- Air quality
- 106
- Santa Catarina14.2 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 106
- Ciudad Apodaca16.8 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 106
- Ciudad Benito Juárez23.0 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 106
- Saltillo72.4 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 71
- Monclova174.9 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 72
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Frequently asked
Questions about Monterrey
What is the air quality (AQI) in Monterrey right now?
The latest reading for Monterrey shows an AQI of 120 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by the Monterrey, Centro ground monitoring station, 1 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Monterrey today?
At AQI 120 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Monterrey been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Monterrey's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 38 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 82 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Monterrey lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Monterrey has lost about 196 hectares of forest (about 280 football pitches): 3.9% 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 Monterrey shrank from about 6,070 hectares to 5,940 hectares, a net loss of about 126 hectares (−2.1%). New forest grew on about 76 hectares, but 203 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Monterrey?
Monterrey has an estimated 14,451 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 4.6% tree cover, 30 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Monterrey need?
Monterrey needs roughly 95,504 more trees to close a 30-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 2,101 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Monterrey's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Centro, 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; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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