Philippines · Cagayan Valley · 3 cities
Air quality in Cagayan Valley today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Ilagan has the cleanest air of the 3 cities we track in Cagayan Valley (AQI 17, Good), and Santiago the worst (AQI 65, Moderate). Santiago has the most tree cover, at 36.5% — #55 of 99 cities measured in the Philippines.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
Average right now
AQI 36
Good
- cities tracked
- 3
- average tree cover
- 25.7%
- Philippines: 40.9%
- worst air now: Santiago
- 65
- cleanest air now: Ilagan
- 17
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Cagayan Valley · average AQI 36
Air quality today across Cagayan Valley, city by city
| Tuguegarao | 27Good | 32.8% | — | #67 of 99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilagan | 17Good | 7.7% | 62.8K | #99 of 99 |
| Santiago | 65Moderate | 36.5% | — | #55 of 99 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in the Philippines.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cagayan Valley lost?
Since 2001, Cagayan Valley has lost about 20,500 hectares of forest (about 29,000 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (63%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 20,500 haabout 29,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 13,000 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 201 ha | 143 ha | 344 ha |
| 2002 | 159 ha | 179 ha | 338 ha |
| 2003 | 138 ha | 96 ha | 234 ha |
| 2004 | 553 ha | 234 ha | 787 ha |
| 2005 | 300 ha | 155 ha | 455 ha |
| 2006 | 357 ha | 161 ha | 518 ha |
| 2007 | 242 ha | 153 ha | 395 ha |
| 2008 | 194 ha | 81 ha | 275 ha |
| 2009 | 406 ha | 135 ha | 541 ha |
| 2010 | 598 ha | 287 ha | 885 ha |
| 2011 | 350 ha | 182 ha | 532 ha |
| 2012 | 507 ha | 255 ha | 762 ha |
| 2013 | 258 ha | 223 ha | 481 ha |
| 2014 | 1,480 ha | 622 ha | 2,100 ha |
| 2015 | 1,160 ha | 568 ha | 1,730 ha |
| 2016 | 1,310 ha | 415 ha | 1,720 ha |
| 2017 | 1,050 ha | 620 ha | 1,670 ha |
| 2018 | 593 ha | 357 ha | 950 ha |
| 2019 | 586 ha | 449 ha | 1,040 ha |
| 2020 | 487 ha | 362 ha | 849 ha |
| 2021 | 479 ha | 420 ha | 899 ha |
| 2022 | 261 ha | 301 ha | 562 ha |
| 2023 | 259 ha | 203 ha | 462 ha |
| 2024 | 631 ha | 470 ha | 1,100 ha |
| 2025 | 471 ha | 420 ha | 891 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 783 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 1,250 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2014, when about 2,100 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Cagayan Valley?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good63% · 13,000 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back33% · 6,790 ha
- Loggingcan grow back1.9% · 400 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, towns and roads, mining and energy, wildfires, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
Other regions in the Philippines
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Cagayan Valley
Picked by tested clean-air delivery rate (CADR), noise and running cost, from independent test labels. No brand pays to be listed.
- The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke and smog
Air purifiers that keep up with wildfire smoke and winter smog, ranked by verified smoke CADR, with the room each one clears on a smoky day.
- The best air purifiers for bedrooms: quiet picks sized for your room
Quiet HEPA air purifiers for bedrooms, compared on what matters at night: noise on the lowest setting (from 20 dB), verified room size and filter cost.
- The best air purifiers under $200
Good HEPA air purifiers under $200 at the makers' own prices, compared on verified clean air, room size and what the filters cost each year.
Your own street