Mexico · Oaxaca · 2 cities
Air quality in Oaxaca today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Oaxaca has the cleanest air of the 2 cities we track in Oaxaca (AQI 41, Good), and Tuxtepec the worst (AQI 57, Moderate). Tuxtepec has the most tree cover, at 49.9% — #2 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.
- cities tracked
- 2
- average tree cover
- 31.6%
- Mexico: 14.6%
- worst air now: Tuxtepec
- 57
- cleanest air now: Oaxaca
- 41
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Oaxaca
Air quality today across Oaxaca, city by city
| Oaxaca | 41Good | 13.2% | 52.8K | #51 of 114 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuxtepec | 57Moderate | 49.9% | — | #2 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 Oaxaca lost?
Since 2001, Oaxaca has lost about 490,000 hectares of forest (about 4,900 km²): 9.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 490,000 haabout 4,900 km²
- Share of its forest
- 9.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 371,000 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 | 12,400 ha | 1,850 ha | 14,300 ha |
| 2002 | 13,400 ha | 1,320 ha | 14,800 ha |
| 2003 | 8,520 ha | 1,320 ha | 9,840 ha |
| 2004 | 10,400 ha | 1,410 ha | 11,800 ha |
| 2005 | 17,700 ha | 2,360 ha | 20,000 ha |
| 2006 | 12,000 ha | 1,420 ha | 13,400 ha |
| 2007 | 19,800 ha | 2,080 ha | 21,900 ha |
| 2008 | 15,400 ha | 1,740 ha | 17,200 ha |
| 2009 | 15,300 ha | 2,040 ha | 17,400 ha |
| 2010 | 13,800 ha | 2,280 ha | 16,100 ha |
| 2011 | 15,900 ha | 1,890 ha | 17,800 ha |
| 2012 | 10,600 ha | 3,080 ha | 13,700 ha |
| 2013 | 12,600 ha | 3,050 ha | 15,600 ha |
| 2014 | 13,200 ha | 2,810 ha | 16,000 ha |
| 2015 | 11,600 ha | 2,250 ha | 13,800 ha |
| 2016 | 20,600 ha | 6,090 ha | 26,700 ha |
| 2017 | 21,400 ha | 9,770 ha | 31,100 ha |
| 2018 | 22,100 ha | 9,620 ha | 31,700 ha |
| 2019 | 23,600 ha | 10,000 ha | 33,600 ha |
| 2020 | 14,400 ha | 6,420 ha | 20,800 ha |
| 2021 | 14,300 ha | 5,640 ha | 20,000 ha |
| 2022 | 15,100 ha | 6,950 ha | 22,000 ha |
| 2023 | 12,400 ha | 4,430 ha | 16,800 ha |
| 2024 | 12,800 ha | 19,600 ha | 32,400 ha |
| 2025 | 11,500 ha | 9,270 ha | 20,800 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 22,400 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 28,800 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 33,600 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Oaxaca?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good75% · 367,000 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back13% · 62,400 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back6.5% · 32,000 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, logging, towns and roads, mining and energy, 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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