City report · U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix Air quality today
Air quality in Saint Croix currently reads AQI 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
AQI 117
Air quality right now
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 41.6
- tree cover
- 26.6%
- trees in this area
- 83.6K
- more trees needed
- 26.4K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Castle Coakley, Christiansted, St Croix 00820, USVI (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Jul 19, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Saint Croix · AQI 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Saint Croix's tree count comes to 83,566 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), 8 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 26,389 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Saint Croix today: AQI 117, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 102.5 mi (165 km), e.g. Carolina and Caguas
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
41.6
PM10
15.3
NO₂
0.2
O₃
66.0
SO₂
3.8
CO
113.0
- Outdoor exercise
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise
- Windows
- Close them to keep the outside air out
- Mask
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors
- Air purifier
- Run one, especially in bedrooms
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Saint Croix's daily AQI at 40 on average, from 12 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 78 on Nov 4.
Where Saint Croix stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Saint Croix: Below target
26.6% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
83,566
Target trees
109,955
More trees needed
26,389
CO₂ if planted / yr
580.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Saint Croix lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Saint Croix has lost about 2,160 acres (873 hectares) of forest (about 1,600 football fields): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,160 acres (873 ha)about 1,600 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 15%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,510 acres (610 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 29 acres (12 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 213 acres (86 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 981 acres (397 hectares) of forest were lost.
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 250 acres (101 ha) | 7 acres (3 ha) | 257 acres (104 ha) |
| 2002 | 29 acres (12 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 32 acres (13 ha) |
| 2003 | 53 acres (21 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 55 acres (22 ha) |
| 2004 | 38 acres (16 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 43 acres (17 ha) |
| 2005 | 26 acres (11 ha) | under 1 ha | 28 acres (11 ha) |
| 2006 | 85 acres (34 ha) | under 1 ha | 87 acres (35 ha) |
| 2007 | 23 acres (9 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 26 acres (10 ha) |
| 2008 | 50 acres (20 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 53 acres (21 ha) |
| 2009 | 138 acres (56 ha) | 6 acres (3 ha) | 144 acres (58 ha) |
| 2010 | 38 acres (15 ha) | under 1 ha | 39 acres (16 ha) |
| 2011 | 69 acres (28 ha) | 6 acres (2 ha) | 75 acres (30 ha) |
| 2012 | 42 acres (17 ha) | 7 acres (3 ha) | 49 acres (20 ha) |
| 2013 | 32 acres (13 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 38 acres (15 ha) |
| 2014 | 23 acres (9 ha) | under 1 ha | 24 acres (10 ha) |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 4 acres (2 ha) | 8 acres (3 ha) | 12 acres (5 ha) |
| 2017 | 415 acres (168 ha) | 566 acres (229 ha) | 981 acres (397 ha) |
| 2018 | 32 acres (13 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 36 acres (14 ha) |
| 2019 | 13 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 13 acres (5 ha) |
| 2020 | 24 acres (10 ha) | under 1 ha | 25 acres (10 ha) |
| 2021 | 27 acres (11 ha) | under 1 ha | 28 acres (11 ha) |
| 2022 | 31 acres (13 ha) | under 1 ha | 33 acres (14 ha) |
| 2023 | 32 acres (13 ha) | under 1 ha | 33 acres (13 ha) |
| 2024 | 21 acres (8 ha) | 12 acres (5 ha) | 33 acres (13 ha) |
| 2025 | 14 acres (6 ha) | under 1 ha | 15 acres (6 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Saint Croix?
- Towns and roadscleared for good35% · 759 acres (307 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good35% · 749 acres (303 ha)
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back21% · 445 acres (180 ha)
Also: shifting farming, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 14,700 acres (5,940 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 13,700 acres (5,550 ha)
- Overall change
- −959 acres (388 ha)less forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Saint Croix shrank from about 14,700 acres (5,940 hectares) to 13,700 acres (5,550 hectares), a net loss of about 959 acres (388 hectares) (−6.5%). New forest grew on about 403 acres (163 hectares), but 1,360 acres (551 hectares) were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
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. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
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Frequently asked
Questions about Saint Croix
What is the air quality (AQI) in Saint Croix right now?
The latest reading for Saint Croix shows an AQI of 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), observed Nov 10, 18:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Saint Croix today?
At AQI 117 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise. Windows: close them to keep the outside air out. Masks: sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Saint Croix been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Saint Croix's daily AQI at 40 on average, from 12 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 78 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Saint Croix lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Saint Croix has lost about 2,160 acres (873 hectares) of forest (about 1,600 football fields): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (70%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 29 acres (12 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 213 acres (86 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Saint Croix shrank from about 14,700 acres (5,940 hectares) to 13,700 acres (5,550 hectares), a net loss of about 959 acres (388 hectares) (−6.5%). New forest grew on about 403 acres (163 hectares), but 1,360 acres (551 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Saint Croix?
Saint Croix has an estimated 83,566 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 26.6% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Saint Croix need?
Saint Croix needs roughly 26,389 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 580.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Saint Croix's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Castle Coakley; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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