Philippines · Northern Mindanao · 7 cities
Air quality in Northern Mindanao today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Maramag has the cleanest air of the 7 cities we track in Northern Mindanao (AQI 3, Good), and Iligan the worst (AQI 33, Good). Quezon has the most tree cover, at 74.1% — #2 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 10
Good
- cities tracked
- 7
- average tree cover
- 49.5%
- Philippines: 40.9%
- worst air now: Iligan
- 33
- cleanest air now: Maramag
- 3
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Northern Mindanao · average AQI 10
Air quality today across Northern Mindanao, city by city
| Cagayan de Oro | 11Good | 29.7% | 914 | #78 of 99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iligan | 33Good | 34.8% | — | #62 of 99 |
| NIA Valencia | 4Good | 46.2% | — | #34 of 99 |
| Gingoog | 6Good | 47.3% | — | #32 of 99 |
| Manolo Fortich | 12Good | 60.8% | — | #14 of 99 |
| Quezon | 4Good | 74.1% | — | #2 of 99 |
| Maramag | 3Good | 53.6% | — | #23 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 Northern Mindanao lost?
Since 2001, Northern Mindanao has lost about 3,070 hectares of forest (about 4,300 football pitches): 1.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (65%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 3,070 haabout 4,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 1.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,990 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 | 43 ha | 11 ha | 54 ha |
| 2002 | 231 ha | 126 ha | 357 ha |
| 2003 | 39 ha | 14 ha | 52 ha |
| 2004 | 78 ha | 36 ha | 113 ha |
| 2005 | 80 ha | 40 ha | 120 ha |
| 2006 | 132 ha | 66 ha | 198 ha |
| 2007 | 90 ha | 33 ha | 122 ha |
| 2008 | 38 ha | 17 ha | 54 ha |
| 2009 | 303 ha | 127 ha | 430 ha |
| 2010 | 228 ha | 118 ha | 346 ha |
| 2011 | 61 ha | 17 ha | 78 ha |
| 2012 | 67 ha | 21 ha | 88 ha |
| 2013 | 35 ha | 27 ha | 62 ha |
| 2014 | 45 ha | 46 ha | 91 ha |
| 2015 | 8 ha | 6 ha | 14 ha |
| 2016 | 93 ha | 43 ha | 136 ha |
| 2017 | 89 ha | 55 ha | 144 ha |
| 2018 | 46 ha | 18 ha | 64 ha |
| 2019 | 34 ha | 18 ha | 52 ha |
| 2020 | 32 ha | 16 ha | 49 ha |
| 2021 | 27 ha | 14 ha | 42 ha |
| 2022 | 26 ha | 10 ha | 35 ha |
| 2023 | 47 ha | 24 ha | 72 ha |
| 2024 | 56 ha | 93 ha | 149 ha |
| 2025 | 64 ha | 83 ha | 147 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 89 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 89 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2009, when about 430 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Northern Mindanao?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good59% · 1,800 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back15% · 473 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back7.5% · 230 ha
Also: towns and roads, mining and energy, 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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