Philippines · National Capital Region · 5 cities
Air quality in National Capital Region today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Paranaque City has the cleanest air of the 5 cities we track in National Capital Region (AQI 48, Good), and Valenzuela the worst (AQI 91, Moderate). Quezon City has the most tree cover, at 35.4% — #59 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.
AQI 61
Average right now
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 22.2%
- Philippines: 40.9%
- worst air now: Valenzuela
- 91
- cleanest air now: Paranaque City
- 48
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
National Capital Region · average AQI 61
Air quality today across National Capital Region, city by city
| Manila | 55Moderate | 10.0% | 60.2K | #98 of 99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quezon City | 57Moderate | 35.4% | — | #59 of 99 |
| Taguig | 54Moderate | 31.5% | — | #71 of 99 |
| Valenzuela | 91Moderate | 14.4% | 49.0K | #95 of 99 |
| Paranaque City | 48Good | 19.5% | 33.0K | #91 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 National Capital Region lost?
Since 2001, National Capital Region has lost about 133 hectares of forest (about 190 football pitches): 3.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (86%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 133 haabout 190 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 3.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 114 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 | 4 ha | 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 5 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2005 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 6 ha |
| 2007 | 13 ha | 2 ha | 15 ha |
| 2008 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | 3 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2014 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2016 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2021 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2022 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2025 | 7 ha | 3 ha | 10 ha |
The worst year was 2016, when about 34 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in National Capital Region?
- Towns and roadscleared for good68% · 90 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good18% · 24 ha
- Unknown causescause unknown14% · 19 ha
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 National Capital Region
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