City report · Guatemala
Quetzaltenango Air quality today
Air quality in Quetzaltenango 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)
- 6.1
- tree cover
- 5.8%
- trees in this area
- 18.2K
- more trees needed
- 76.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Zona 03, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 10, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Quetzaltenango · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Quetzaltenango's tree count comes to 18,221 trees across 12.57 km², 24 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 76,027 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Quetzaltenango today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 105 km, e.g. San Juan Sacatepéquez and Guatemala City
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
6.1
PM10
12.9
NO₂
1.1
O₃
78.0
SO₂
2.3
CO
374.0
- 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 Quetzaltenango's daily AQI at 97 on average, from 87 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 166 on Nov 4.
Where Quetzaltenango stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Quetzaltenango: Critically low
5.8% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
18,221
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
76,027
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,673 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Quetzaltenango lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Quetzaltenango has lost about 476 hectares of forest (about 670 football pitches): 4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 476 haabout 670 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 265 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 87 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 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 9 ha |
| 2002 | 12 ha | 3 ha | 14 ha |
| 2003 | 12 ha | 5 ha | 17 ha |
| 2004 | 23 ha | 5 ha | 28 ha |
| 2005 | 9 ha | 14 ha | 23 ha |
| 2006 | 21 ha | 10 ha | 31 ha |
| 2007 | 16 ha | 25 ha | 40 ha |
| 2008 | 28 ha | 59 ha | 87 ha |
| 2009 | 38 ha | 31 ha | 69 ha |
| 2010 | 10 ha | 7 ha | 17 ha |
| 2011 | 6 ha | 6 ha | 12 ha |
| 2012 | 14 ha | 5 ha | 19 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2017 | 6 ha | 6 ha | 12 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | 9 ha | 13 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | 2 ha | 9 ha |
| 2020 | 5 ha | 4 ha | 9 ha |
| 2021 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2023 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2024 | 9 ha | 14 ha | 23 ha |
| 2025 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Quetzaltenango?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good25% · 121 ha
- Loggingcan grow back23% · 110 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good17% · 83 ha
Also: mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, 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
- 12,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 12,900 ha
- Overall change
- +76 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Quetzaltenango stayed about the same size, at about 12,900 hectares: new forest grew on about 268 hectares, and about 191 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 Quetzaltenango
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Totonicapán19.0 km
Guatemala
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 62
- Chichicastenango45.6 km
Guatemala
- Tree cover
- 75%
- Air quality
- 70
- Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa78.1 km
Guatemala
- Tree cover
- 54%
- Air quality
- 65
- Tapachula79.4 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 31
- San Juan Sacatepéquez95.5 km
Guatemala
- Tree cover
- 69%
- Air quality
- 30
Also compared:Quetzaltenango vs Guatemala CityQuetzaltenango vs CobánQuetzaltenango vs Jalapa
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Frequently asked
Questions about Quetzaltenango
What is the air quality (AQI) in Quetzaltenango right now?
The latest reading for Quetzaltenango shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 10:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 105 km, 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 Quetzaltenango 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 Quetzaltenango been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Quetzaltenango's daily AQI at 97 on average, from 87 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 166 on Nov 4. On 3 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Quetzaltenango lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Quetzaltenango has lost about 476 hectares of forest (about 670 football pitches): 4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Quetzaltenango stayed about the same size, at about 12,900 hectares: new forest grew on about 268 hectares, and about 191 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Quetzaltenango?
Quetzaltenango has an estimated 18,221 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 5.8% tree cover, 24 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Quetzaltenango need?
Quetzaltenango needs roughly 76,027 more trees to close a 24-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,673 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Quetzaltenango'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 Zona 03; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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