City report · Ecuador
Quito Air quality today
Air quality in Quito currently reads AQI 49 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 49
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.6
- tree cover
- 23.1%
- trees in this area
- 72.6K
- more trees needed
- 21.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around La Colmena, Quito, Ecuador (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 27, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Quito · AQI 49 (Good)
Quito's tree count comes to 72,571 trees across 12.57 km², 7 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 21,677 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Quito today: AQI 49, Good
Main pollutant: PM10 · Observed Nov 11, 08:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Centro, Quito, Ecuador, 1.5 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.6
PM10
53.2
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Metropolitan Air Monitoring Network of Quito managed by Secretaria de Ambiente DMQ.
- 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 Quito's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 24 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 64 on Nov 6.
Where Quito stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Quito: Below target
23.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
72,571
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
21,677
CO₂ if planted / yr
476.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Quito lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Quito has lost about 430 hectares of forest (about 600 football pitches): 4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (65%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 430 haabout 600 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 278 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2004, when about 54 hectares of forest were lost.
Quito's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 10 ha | 16 ha | 27 ha |
| 2002 | 15 ha | 16 ha | 31 ha |
| 2003 | 4 ha | 5 ha | 9 ha |
| 2004 | 27 ha | 27 ha | 54 ha |
| 2005 | 6 ha | 3 ha | 8 ha |
| 2006 | 16 ha | 4 ha | 20 ha |
| 2007 | 21 ha | 5 ha | 26 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2009 | 19 ha | 4 ha | 23 ha |
| 2010 | 4 ha | 4 ha | 8 ha |
| 2011 | 9 ha | 4 ha | 13 ha |
| 2012 | 31 ha | 13 ha | 44 ha |
| 2013 | 14 ha | 10 ha | 24 ha |
| 2014 | 11 ha | 4 ha | 15 ha |
| 2015 | 9 ha | 7 ha | 16 ha |
| 2016 | 8 ha | 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2017 | 10 ha | 4 ha | 13 ha |
| 2018 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | 7 ha | 8 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 36 ha | 5 ha | 41 ha |
| 2025 | 7 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Quito?
- Towns and roadscleared for good44% · 188 ha
- Loggingcan grow back30% · 131 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good21% · 90 ha
Also: 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
- 9,550 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,750 ha
- Overall change
- +198 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Quito grew from about 9,550 hectares to 9,750 hectares, a net gain of about 198 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 362 hectares, while 163 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 Quito
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Latacunga79.0 km
Ecuador
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 22
- Ambato113.8 km
Ecuador
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 24
- Quevedo137.0 km
Ecuador
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 15
- Riobamba160.3 km
Ecuador
- Tree cover
- 3%
- Air quality
- 28
Also compared:Quito vs GuayaquilQuito vs Cuenca
Build your own
Compare Quito with anywhere
This place
Quito
Use this data
Put Quito's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Quito
What is the air quality (AQI) in Quito right now?
The latest reading for Quito shows an AQI of 49 (Good), measured Nov 11, 08:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Centro, Quito, Ecuador, 1.5 km away). The main pollutant is PM10. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Quito today?
At AQI 49 (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 Quito been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Quito's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 24 on Nov 10 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 Quito lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Quito has lost about 430 hectares of forest (about 600 football pitches): 4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (65%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Quito grew from about 9,550 hectares to 9,750 hectares, a net gain of about 198 hectares (+2.1%). New forest grew on about 362 hectares, while 163 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Quito?
Quito has an estimated 72,571 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 23.1% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Quito need?
Quito needs roughly 21,677 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 476.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Quito's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near La Colmena, 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 La Colmena; 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