Skip to content
Airleaf

City report · Oaxaca, Mexico

Oaxaca Air quality today

Air quality in Oaxaca currently reads AQI 41 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Air quality right now

AQI 41

Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
6.5
tree cover
13.2%
trees in this area
41.5K
more trees needed
52.8K

Measured across a 2 km radius around OAX_RE_BENITO JUAREZ, Centro, Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 19, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Sep 19, 2026

Oaxaca's tree count comes to 41,469 trees across 12.57 km², 17 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 52,779 more trees would close the gap.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Oaxaca today: AQI 41, Good

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 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

6.5

PM10

8.4

NO₂

2.7

O₃

59.0

SO₂

1.3

CO

169.0

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 Oaxaca's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 25 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 64 on Nov 6.

Last 7 daysavg 44 · peak 64
Nov 4: AQI 48 (peak 61)Nov 5: AQI 50 (peak 63)Nov 6: AQI 56 (peak 64)Nov 7: AQI 45 (peak 58)Nov 8: AQI 25 (peak 53)Nov 9: AQI 33 (peak 60)Nov 10: AQI 50 (peak 60)
Nov 4Nov 10

Where Oaxaca stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Oaxaca: Critically low

13.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².

17 points below target

Trees in this area

41,469

Target trees

94,248

More trees needed

52,779

CO₂ if planted / yr

1,161 t

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Oaxaca lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Oaxaca has lost about 67 hectares of forest (about 94 football pitches): 2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (82%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.

Satellite image of the area around Oaxaca, January 2017

2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
67 haabout 94 football pitches
Share of its forest
2%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
55 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

The worst year was 2006, when about 28 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Oaxaca, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Oaxaca, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.27.7

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Oaxaca, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
20012 haunder 1 ha2 ha
20028 haunder 1 ha9 ha
20031 haunder 1 ha1 ha
2004under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
20054 haunder 1 ha5 ha
200627 haunder 1 ha28 ha
20072 haunder 1 ha2 ha
2008under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2009under 1 haunder 1 ha1 ha
2010under 1 ha3 ha3 ha
20116 haunder 1 ha6 ha
2012under 1 haunder 1 ha1 ha
2013under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2014under 1 ha4 ha4 ha
2015under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2016under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2017under 1 haunder 1 ha1 ha
2018under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2019under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2020under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2021under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2022under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2023under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2024under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2025under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha

What is causing deforestation around Oaxaca?

  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good71% · 48 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good11% · 7 ha
  • Wildfirescan grow back5.2% · 4 ha

Also: logging, 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
6,180 ha
Forest in 2020
6,460 ha
Overall change
+277 hamore forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Oaxaca grew from about 6,180 hectares to 6,460 hectares, a net gain of about 277 hectares (+4.5%). New forest grew on about 321 hectares, while 45 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 Oaxaca

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

  • Tuxtepec

    Mexico

    130.8 km
    Tree cover
    50%
    Air quality
    57
  • Tehuacán

    Mexico

    171.6 km
    Tree cover
    6%
    Air quality
    36
  • Orizaba

    Mexico

    203.1 km
    Tree cover
    26%
    Air quality
    43
  • Córdoba

    Mexico

    203.9 km
    Tree cover
    37%
    Air quality
    160
  • Veracruz

    Mexico

    243.7 km
    Tree cover
    12%
    Air quality
    51
  • 252.6 km
    Tree cover
    23%
    Air quality
    38

Build your own

Compare Oaxaca with anywhere

This place

Oaxaca

Use this data

Put Oaxaca's numbers on your site

Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.

Oaxaca air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
HTML
Markdown

Frequently asked

Questions about Oaxaca

What is the air quality (AQI) in Oaxaca right now?

The latest reading for Oaxaca shows an AQI of 41 (Good), observed Nov 10, 08:00 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 Oaxaca today?

At AQI 41 (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 Oaxaca been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Oaxaca's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 25 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 64 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 Oaxaca lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Oaxaca has lost about 67 hectares of forest (about 94 football pitches): 2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (82%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Oaxaca grew from about 6,180 hectares to 6,460 hectares, a net gain of about 277 hectares (+4.5%). New forest grew on about 321 hectares, while 45 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Oaxaca?

Oaxaca has an estimated 41,469 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 13.2% tree cover, 17 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Oaxaca need?

Oaxaca needs roughly 52,779 more trees to close a 17-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,161 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.

How are Oaxaca'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 OAX_RE_BENITO JUAREZ; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

See your own area

What does your neighborhood look like?

Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.

Check my address