Mexico · Veracruz · 7 cities
Air quality in Veracruz today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Minatitlán has the cleanest air of the 7 cities we track in Veracruz (AQI 38, Good), and Córdoba the worst (AQI 160, Unhealthy). Córdoba has the most tree cover, at 36.8% — #5 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.
Average right now
AQI 64
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 7
- average tree cover
- 22.5%
- Mexico: 14.6%
- worst air now: Córdoba
- 160
- cleanest air now: Minatitlán
- 38
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Veracruz · average AQI 64
Air quality today across Veracruz, city by city
| Veracruz | 51Moderate | 12.4% | 55.3K | #55 of 114 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xalapa de Enríquez | 60Moderate | 17.0% | 40.8K | #41 of 114 |
| Coatzacoalcos | 51Moderate | 14.5% | 31.7K | #47 of 114 |
| Córdoba | 160Unhealthy | 36.8% | 10.1K | #5 of 114 |
| Poza Rica de Hidalgo | 44Good | 28.4% | 5.0K | #14 of 114 |
| Orizaba | 43Good | 25.7% | 13.5K | #16 of 114 |
| Minatitlán | 38Good | 22.8% | 22.6K | #22 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 Veracruz lost?
Since 2001, Veracruz has lost about 556,000 hectares of forest (about 5,600 km²): 18% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (95%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 556,000 haabout 5,600 km²
- Share of its forest
- 18%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 528,000 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 | 19,800 ha | 259 ha | 20,000 ha |
| 2002 | 19,400 ha | 205 ha | 19,600 ha |
| 2003 | 14,000 ha | 299 ha | 14,300 ha |
| 2004 | 19,100 ha | 242 ha | 19,400 ha |
| 2005 | 35,700 ha | 345 ha | 36,100 ha |
| 2006 | 21,800 ha | 368 ha | 22,200 ha |
| 2007 | 29,500 ha | 452 ha | 29,900 ha |
| 2008 | 19,100 ha | 407 ha | 19,600 ha |
| 2009 | 22,700 ha | 557 ha | 23,300 ha |
| 2010 | 17,200 ha | 441 ha | 17,600 ha |
| 2011 | 25,800 ha | 456 ha | 26,300 ha |
| 2012 | 15,000 ha | 503 ha | 15,500 ha |
| 2013 | 21,000 ha | 591 ha | 21,600 ha |
| 2014 | 18,100 ha | 634 ha | 18,700 ha |
| 2015 | 17,200 ha | 488 ha | 17,700 ha |
| 2016 | 23,900 ha | 816 ha | 24,700 ha |
| 2017 | 25,100 ha | 949 ha | 26,000 ha |
| 2018 | 28,500 ha | 1,140 ha | 29,600 ha |
| 2019 | 32,600 ha | 4,140 ha | 36,800 ha |
| 2020 | 20,900 ha | 1,140 ha | 22,000 ha |
| 2021 | 18,200 ha | 1,080 ha | 19,300 ha |
| 2022 | 14,800 ha | 1,180 ha | 16,000 ha |
| 2023 | 16,000 ha | 1,170 ha | 17,100 ha |
| 2024 | 17,100 ha | 8,260 ha | 25,300 ha |
| 2025 | 15,500 ha | 2,340 ha | 17,800 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 19,100 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 27,800 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 36,800 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Veracruz?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good94% · 523,000 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back2.4% · 13,300 ha
- Loggingcan grow back1.3% · 7,000 ha
Also: towns and roads, shifting farming, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
Other states in Mexico
Clean-air buying guides
Cleaner air at home in Veracruz
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