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Air quality now: AQI61Moderate, San Pedro Sula

City report · Honduras

San Pedro Sula Air quality today

Air quality in San Pedro Sula currently reads AQI 61 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

AQI 61

Air quality right now

Moderate

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
14.4
tree cover
15.9%
trees in this area
50.0K
more trees needed
44.3K

Measured across a 2 km radius around Barrio Guamilito, 21102 San Pedro Sula, Cortés, Honduras (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Jun 19, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

San Pedro Sula · AQI 61 (Moderate)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Jun 19, 2026

San Pedro Sula's tree count comes to 49,951 trees across 12.57 km², 14 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 44,296 more trees would close the gap.

Air quality detail

Air quality in San Pedro Sula today: AQI 61, Moderate

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 12:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Ground station · Colonia Moderna, San Pedro Sula - Sustenta Honduras/CIPOTES, 1.7 km away · median of 2 stations

Health signal

Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

PM2.5

14.4

PM10

—

NO₂

—

O₃

—

SO₂

—

CO

—

Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Sustenta Honduras

Outdoor exercise
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
Mask
Not needed for most people
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put San Pedro Sula's daily AQI at 56 on average, from 42 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 87 on Nov 5.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 56 · peak 87
Nov 5: AQI 60 (peak 87)Nov 6: AQI 65 (peak 85)Nov 7: AQI 42 (peak 71)Nov 8: AQI 43 (peak 57)Nov 9: AQI 50 (peak 83)Nov 10: AQI 55 (peak 85)Nov 11: AQI 78 (peak 78)
Nov 5Nov 11

Where San Pedro Sula stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in San Pedro Sula: Critically low

15.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².

14 points below target

Trees in this area

49,951

Target trees

94,247

More trees needed

44,296

CO₂ if planted / yr

974.5 t

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has San Pedro Sula lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of San Pedro Sula has lost about 2,140 hectares of forest (about 3,000 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.

Satellite image of the area around San Pedro Sula, February 2017

2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
2,140 haabout 3,000 football pitches
Share of its forest
12%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
1,890 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

Forest loss is slowing down: about 88 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 162 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2019, when about 258 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around San Pedro Sula, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around San Pedro Sula, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.258

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around San Pedro Sula, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
200111 ha2 ha13 ha
200214 haunder 1 ha15 ha
200315 ha1 ha16 ha
200440 ha3 ha43 ha
200516 haunder 1 ha17 ha
200622 haunder 1 ha23 ha
2007105 ha4 ha109 ha
200850 ha3 ha53 ha
200971 ha4 ha75 ha
201015 ha1 ha17 ha
201148 ha2 ha51 ha
201277 ha5 ha82 ha
2013101 ha3 ha104 ha
201472 ha9 ha81 ha
2015183 ha12 ha195 ha
2016137 ha25 ha162 ha
2017140 ha33 ha173 ha
201896 ha10 ha106 ha
2019229 ha29 ha258 ha
202073 ha37 ha110 ha
202163 ha13 ha76 ha
202231 ha8 ha39 ha
202346 ha11 ha57 ha
2024157 ha19 ha176 ha
202577 ha17 ha94 ha

What is causing deforestation around San Pedro Sula?

  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good53% · 1,140 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good35% · 753 ha
  • Shifting farmingcan grow back9.3% · 199 ha

Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, logging, 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
17,800 ha
Forest in 2020
16,500 ha
Overall change
−1,280 haless forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around San Pedro Sula shrank from about 17,800 hectares to 16,500 hectares, a net loss of about 1,280 hectares (−7.2%). New forest grew on about 219 hectares, but 1,500 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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San Pedro Sula air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about San Pedro Sula

What is the air quality (AQI) in San Pedro Sula right now?

The latest reading for San Pedro Sula shows an AQI of 61 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 12:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Colonia Moderna, San Pedro Sula - Sustenta Honduras/CIPOTES, 1.7 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Is it safe to exercise outside in San Pedro Sula today?

At AQI 61 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.

What has the air quality in San Pedro Sula been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put San Pedro Sula's daily AQI at 56 on average, from 42 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 87 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

How much forest has the area around San Pedro Sula lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of San Pedro Sula has lost about 2,140 hectares of forest (about 3,000 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (88%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 88 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 162 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around San Pedro Sula shrank from about 17,800 hectares to 16,500 hectares, a net loss of about 1,280 hectares (−7.2%). New forest grew on about 219 hectares, but 1,500 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in San Pedro Sula?

San Pedro Sula has an estimated 49,951 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 15.9% tree cover, 14 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does San Pedro Sula need?

San Pedro Sula needs roughly 44,296 more trees to close a 14-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 974.5 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.

How are San Pedro Sula's air quality and tree cover measured?

Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Barrio Guamilito, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Barrio Guamilito; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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