Vietnam · Sơn La Province · 2 cities
Air quality in Sơn La Province today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Sơn La has the cleanest air of the 2 cities we track in Sơn La Province (AQI 24, Good), and Thị Trấn Thuận Châu the worst (AQI 31, Good). Thị Trấn Thuận Châu has the most tree cover, at 82.6% — #1 of 112 cities measured in Vietnam.
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
- 72.3%
- Vietnam: 35.8%
- worst air now: Thị Trấn Thuận Châu
- 31
- cleanest air now: Sơn La
- 24
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Sơn La Province
Air quality today across Sơn La Province, city by city
| Thị Trấn Thuận Châu | 31Good | 82.6% | — | #1 of 112 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sơn La | 24Good | 62.0% | — | #9 of 112 |
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 Vietnam.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sơn La Province lost?
Since 2001, Sơn La Province has lost about 134,000 hectares of forest (about 190,000 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (63%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 134,000 haabout 190,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 15%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 85,100 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 | 842 ha | 478 ha | 1,320 ha |
| 2002 | 1,070 ha | 545 ha | 1,620 ha |
| 2003 | 3,440 ha | 1,230 ha | 4,660 ha |
| 2004 | 1,420 ha | 630 ha | 2,050 ha |
| 2005 | 10,600 ha | 2,990 ha | 13,600 ha |
| 2006 | 7,550 ha | 3,420 ha | 11,000 ha |
| 2007 | 3,680 ha | 1,840 ha | 5,520 ha |
| 2008 | 3,090 ha | 1,470 ha | 4,560 ha |
| 2009 | 2,090 ha | 774 ha | 2,860 ha |
| 2010 | 14,100 ha | 5,620 ha | 19,700 ha |
| 2011 | 7,280 ha | 2,280 ha | 9,560 ha |
| 2012 | 2,710 ha | 1,100 ha | 3,810 ha |
| 2013 | 1,840 ha | 1,420 ha | 3,260 ha |
| 2014 | 2,370 ha | 1,810 ha | 4,180 ha |
| 2015 | 2,750 ha | 2,750 ha | 5,500 ha |
| 2016 | 2,800 ha | 2,940 ha | 5,740 ha |
| 2017 | 2,830 ha | 2,740 ha | 5,570 ha |
| 2018 | 1,730 ha | 1,640 ha | 3,370 ha |
| 2019 | 1,780 ha | 2,090 ha | 3,870 ha |
| 2020 | 2,060 ha | 2,750 ha | 4,810 ha |
| 2021 | 1,340 ha | 1,540 ha | 2,880 ha |
| 2022 | 1,930 ha | 1,780 ha | 3,700 ha |
| 2023 | 2,690 ha | 2,440 ha | 5,130 ha |
| 2024 | 1,590 ha | 1,610 ha | 3,200 ha |
| 2025 | 1,540 ha | 1,200 ha | 2,740 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 3,530 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 4,670 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2010, when about 19,700 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Sơn La Province?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good62% · 83,400 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back35% · 46,300 ha
- Loggingcan grow back1.6% · 2,120 ha
Also: mining and energy, storms, floods and other natural causes, towns and roads, wildfires, 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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