Venezuela · Mérida · 3 cities
Air quality in Mérida today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Mérida has the cleanest air of the 3 cities we track in Mérida (AQI 27, Good), and El Vigía the worst (AQI 43, Good). Mérida has the most tree cover, at 43.3% — #6 of 57 cities measured in Venezuela.
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.
AQI 32
Average right now
Good
- cities tracked
- 3
- average tree cover
- 35.9%
- Venezuela: 27.3%
- worst air now: El Vigía
- 43
- cleanest air now: Mérida
- 27
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Mérida · average AQI 32
Air quality today across Mérida, city by city
| Mérida | 27Good | 43.3% | — | #6 of 57 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Vigía | 43Good | 33.4% | — | #18 of 57 |
| Ejido | 27Good | 31.0% | — | #23 of 57 |
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 Venezuela.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Mérida lost?
Since 2001, Mérida has lost about 30,700 hectares of forest (about 43,000 football pitches): 4.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (94%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 30,700 haabout 43,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 28,900 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 | 2,170 ha | 109 ha | 2,280 ha |
| 2002 | 1,460 ha | 59 ha | 1,520 ha |
| 2003 | 1,200 ha | 103 ha | 1,300 ha |
| 2004 | 1,130 ha | 112 ha | 1,250 ha |
| 2005 | 2,070 ha | 112 ha | 2,180 ha |
| 2006 | 1,200 ha | 61 ha | 1,260 ha |
| 2007 | 2,230 ha | 115 ha | 2,350 ha |
| 2008 | 1,150 ha | 57 ha | 1,210 ha |
| 2009 | 1,910 ha | 78 ha | 1,990 ha |
| 2010 | 1,940 ha | 62 ha | 2,000 ha |
| 2011 | 724 ha | 54 ha | 778 ha |
| 2012 | 2,080 ha | 130 ha | 2,210 ha |
| 2013 | 216 ha | 31 ha | 247 ha |
| 2014 | 369 ha | 36 ha | 405 ha |
| 2015 | 205 ha | 9 ha | 214 ha |
| 2016 | 784 ha | 212 ha | 996 ha |
| 2017 | 2,020 ha | 150 ha | 2,170 ha |
| 2018 | 1,020 ha | 52 ha | 1,070 ha |
| 2019 | 757 ha | 25 ha | 782 ha |
| 2020 | 885 ha | 20 ha | 905 ha |
| 2021 | 583 ha | 31 ha | 614 ha |
| 2022 | 621 ha | 23 ha | 644 ha |
| 2023 | 779 ha | 73 ha | 852 ha |
| 2024 | 577 ha | 93 ha | 670 ha |
| 2025 | 778 ha | 60 ha | 838 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 724 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 1,180 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2007, when about 2,350 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Mérida?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good91% · 27,900 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back2.1% · 655 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good1.7% · 525 ha
Also: towns and roads, shifting farming, wildfires, 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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