Mexico · Nuevo León · 5 cities
Air quality in Nuevo León today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Ciudad Apodaca has the cleanest air of the 5 cities we track in Nuevo León (AQI 125, Unhealthy for sensitive groups), and Monterrey the worst (AQI 134, Unhealthy for sensitive groups). Ciudad Benito Juárez has the most tree cover, at 20.1% — #28 of 114 cities measured in Mexico.
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 127
Average right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- cities tracked
- 5
- average tree cover
- 11.1%
- Mexico: 14.6%
- worst air now: Monterrey
- 134
- cleanest air now: Ciudad Apodaca
- 125
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Nuevo León · average AQI 127
Air quality today across Nuevo León, city by city
| Monterrey | 134Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 4.6% | 95.5K | #96 of 114 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ciudad Apodaca | 125Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 18.9% | 50.6K | #33 of 114 |
| Ciudad General Escobedo | 125Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 8.2% | 84.2K | #77 of 114 |
| Ciudad Benito Juárez | 125Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 20.1% | 46.8K | #28 of 114 |
| Santa Catarina | 125Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 3.6% | 98.6K | #104 of 114 |
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 Mexico.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Nuevo León lost?
Since 2001, Nuevo León has lost about 72,100 hectares of forest (about 100,000 football pitches): 6.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 72,100 haabout 100,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 50,600 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 | 2,050 ha | 276 ha | 2,330 ha |
| 2002 | 2,960 ha | 578 ha | 3,540 ha |
| 2003 | 2,020 ha | 276 ha | 2,290 ha |
| 2004 | 2,650 ha | 933 ha | 3,580 ha |
| 2005 | 2,400 ha | 404 ha | 2,800 ha |
| 2006 | 2,750 ha | 389 ha | 3,140 ha |
| 2007 | 2,750 ha | 1,070 ha | 3,820 ha |
| 2008 | 3,570 ha | 1,130 ha | 4,700 ha |
| 2009 | 3,380 ha | 498 ha | 3,870 ha |
| 2010 | 4,000 ha | 694 ha | 4,690 ha |
| 2011 | 2,160 ha | 2,280 ha | 4,440 ha |
| 2012 | 2,280 ha | 328 ha | 2,600 ha |
| 2013 | 898 ha | 369 ha | 1,270 ha |
| 2014 | 1,140 ha | 275 ha | 1,420 ha |
| 2015 | 996 ha | 51 ha | 1,050 ha |
| 2016 | 1,610 ha | 47 ha | 1,660 ha |
| 2017 | 1,670 ha | 17 ha | 1,690 ha |
| 2018 | 1,700 ha | 74 ha | 1,780 ha |
| 2019 | 1,240 ha | 147 ha | 1,380 ha |
| 2020 | 1,270 ha | 84 ha | 1,360 ha |
| 2021 | 1,900 ha | 6,580 ha | 8,480 ha |
| 2022 | 1,720 ha | 1,270 ha | 2,980 ha |
| 2023 | 1,370 ha | 1,520 ha | 2,880 ha |
| 2024 | 1,020 ha | 1,600 ha | 2,620 ha |
| 2025 | 1,100 ha | 658 ha | 1,760 ha |
Forest loss is speeding up: about 3,750 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 1,570 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2021, when about 8,480 hectares of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
What is causing deforestation in Nuevo León?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good58% · 42,100 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back23% · 16,900 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good10% · 7,560 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, logging, shifting farming, 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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