Philippines · Central Luzon · 17 cities
Air quality in Central Luzon today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Angeles City has the cleanest air of the 17 cities we track in Central Luzon (AQI 22, Good), and Malolos the worst (AQI 83, Moderate). Norzagaray has the most tree cover, at 70.5% — #3 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 50
Good
- cities tracked
- 17
- average tree cover
- 37.7%
- Philippines: 40.9%
- worst air now: Malolos
- 83
- cleanest air now: Angeles City
- 22
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Central Luzon · average AQI 50
Air quality today across Central Luzon, city by city
| Angeles City | 22Good | 18.6% | 35.8K | #92 of 99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tarlac City | 52Moderate | 37.0% | — | #54 of 99 |
| San Jose del Monte | 77Moderate | 54.2% | — | #22 of 99 |
| Cabanatuan City | 52Moderate | 31.0% | — | #74 of 99 |
| Malolos | 83Moderate | 19.5% | 28.8K | #90 of 99 |
| San Fernando | 22Good | 37.3% | — | #53 of 99 |
| Olongapo | 44Good | 31.2% | — | #72 of 99 |
| Mabalacat City | 67Moderate | 33.7% | — | #64 of 99 |
| Concepcion | 61Moderate | 32.1% | — | #69 of 99 |
| Pandi | 81Moderate | 42.4% | — | #38 of 99 |
| Mariveles | 33Good | 69.5% | — | #4 of 99 |
| Norzagaray | 79Moderate | 70.5% | — | #3 of 99 |
| Baliuag | 22Good | 41.6% | — | #42 of 99 |
| Gapan | 59Moderate | 29.6% | 1.3K | #79 of 99 |
| Hagonoy | 26Good | 11.4% | 18.3K | #96 of 99 |
| Calumpit | 22Good | 38.7% | — | #50 of 99 |
| Paniqui | 52Moderate | 41.9% | — | #40 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 Central Luzon lost?
Since 2001, Central Luzon has lost about 124,000 hectares of forest (about 170,000 football pitches): 18% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (68%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 124,000 haabout 170,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 18%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 84,600 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 | 1,820 ha | 1,010 ha | 2,830 ha |
| 2002 | 1,760 ha | 902 ha | 2,660 ha |
| 2003 | 955 ha | 601 ha | 1,560 ha |
| 2004 | 4,050 ha | 1,480 ha | 5,530 ha |
| 2005 | 2,330 ha | 935 ha | 3,260 ha |
| 2006 | 2,120 ha | 1,010 ha | 3,130 ha |
| 2007 | 2,130 ha | 1,160 ha | 3,290 ha |
| 2008 | 2,080 ha | 652 ha | 2,740 ha |
| 2009 | 2,920 ha | 976 ha | 3,900 ha |
| 2010 | 3,850 ha | 1,710 ha | 5,560 ha |
| 2011 | 3,330 ha | 980 ha | 4,310 ha |
| 2012 | 4,280 ha | 1,480 ha | 5,760 ha |
| 2013 | 1,010 ha | 1,430 ha | 2,430 ha |
| 2014 | 8,030 ha | 3,240 ha | 11,300 ha |
| 2015 | 5,970 ha | 2,480 ha | 8,440 ha |
| 2016 | 6,470 ha | 2,740 ha | 9,200 ha |
| 2017 | 7,480 ha | 3,530 ha | 11,000 ha |
| 2018 | 4,350 ha | 2,020 ha | 6,370 ha |
| 2019 | 4,250 ha | 2,090 ha | 6,340 ha |
| 2020 | 3,340 ha | 1,740 ha | 5,070 ha |
| 2021 | 2,680 ha | 1,660 ha | 4,340 ha |
| 2022 | 2,390 ha | 1,180 ha | 3,570 ha |
| 2023 | 1,900 ha | 1,090 ha | 2,990 ha |
| 2024 | 3,100 ha | 1,550 ha | 4,650 ha |
| 2025 | 2,070 ha | 1,450 ha | 3,510 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 3,810 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 7,600 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2014, when about 11,300 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Central Luzon?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good68% · 84,500 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back25% · 30,500 ha
- Loggingcan grow back6.5% · 8,020 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, towns and roads, 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
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