Philippines · Central Visayas · 6 cities
Air quality in Central Visayas today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Cebu City has the cleanest air of the 6 cities we track in Central Visayas (AQI 18, Good), and Naga, Central Visayas the worst (AQI 23, Good). Toledo has the most tree cover, at 63.8% — #10 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 20
Good
- cities tracked
- 6
- average tree cover
- 44.5%
- Philippines: 40.9%
- worst air now: Naga, Central Visayas
- 23
- cleanest air now: Cebu City
- 18
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Central Visayas · average AQI 20
Air quality today across Central Visayas, city by city
| Cebu City | 18Good | 24.9% | 16.0K | #87 of 99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo | 19Good | 63.8% | — | #10 of 99 |
| Naga, Central Visayas | 23Good | 56.0% | — | #18 of 99 |
| Talisay | 18Good | 30.4% | — | #76 of 99 |
| Bayawan | 22Good | 58.7% | — | #15 of 99 |
| Dumaguete | 19Good | 33.1% | — | #66 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 Visayas lost?
Since 2001, Central Visayas has lost about 2,210 hectares of forest (about 3,100 football pitches): 3.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (80%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,210 haabout 3,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,770 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 | 66 ha | 20 ha | 86 ha |
| 2002 | 37 ha | 16 ha | 53 ha |
| 2003 | 37 ha | 36 ha | 73 ha |
| 2004 | 40 ha | 63 ha | 103 ha |
| 2005 | 73 ha | 32 ha | 105 ha |
| 2006 | 110 ha | 63 ha | 173 ha |
| 2007 | 76 ha | 33 ha | 109 ha |
| 2008 | 23 ha | 6 ha | 29 ha |
| 2009 | 112 ha | 12 ha | 124 ha |
| 2010 | 130 ha | 18 ha | 148 ha |
| 2011 | 45 ha | 27 ha | 72 ha |
| 2012 | 163 ha | 27 ha | 190 ha |
| 2013 | 9 ha | 4 ha | 13 ha |
| 2014 | 27 ha | 4 ha | 31 ha |
| 2015 | 19 ha | 2 ha | 21 ha |
| 2016 | 47 ha | 4 ha | 51 ha |
| 2017 | 75 ha | 7 ha | 81 ha |
| 2018 | 53 ha | 8 ha | 61 ha |
| 2019 | 35 ha | 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2020 | 36 ha | 3 ha | 39 ha |
| 2021 | 62 ha | 6 ha | 67 ha |
| 2022 | 91 ha | 3 ha | 94 ha |
| 2023 | 250 ha | under 1 ha | 250 ha |
| 2024 | 80 ha | 10 ha | 90 ha |
| 2025 | 76 ha | 30 ha | 106 ha |
Forest loss is speeding up: about 121 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 54 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2023, when about 250 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Central Visayas?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good62% · 1,370 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back14% · 310 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good12% · 267 ha
Also: towns and roads, storms, floods and other natural causes, logging, 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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