City report · Nuevo León, Mexico
Santa Catarina Air quality today
Air quality in Santa Catarina currently reads AQI 106 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Air quality right now
AQI 106
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 37.7
- tree cover
- 3.6%
- trees in this area
- 11.3K
- more trees needed
- 98.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Vista a la Sierra, 66375 Cdad. Santa Catarina, N.L., Mexico (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 15, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Santa Catarina · AQI 106 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Santa Catarina's tree count comes to 11,310 trees across 12.57 km², 31 points below the 35% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 98,646 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Santa Catarina today: AQI 106, Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 10:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Monterrey, Centro, 14 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
PM2.5
37.7
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, BioLets, Bosquencinos Sensor 01
- 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 Santa Catarina's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 38 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 82 on Nov 5.
Where Santa Catarina stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Santa Catarina: Critically low
3.6% tree cover against a 35% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
11,310
Target trees
109,956
More trees needed
98,646
CO₂ if planted / yr
2,170 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Santa Catarina lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Catarina has lost about 363 hectares of forest (about 510 football pitches): 5.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (96%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from October 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 363 haabout 510 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 349 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2012, when about 38 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2002 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2006 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2007 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2008 | 33 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2009 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2010 | 16 ha | 5 ha | 20 ha |
| 2011 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2012 | 37 ha | 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2013 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2014 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2015 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2016 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2017 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2018 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2020 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2021 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2022 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2023 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2024 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2025 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Santa Catarina?
- Towns and roadscleared for good84% · 306 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good12% · 43 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back1.4% · 5 ha
Also: 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
- 10,700 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,980 ha
- Overall change
- −682 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Catarina shrank from about 10,700 hectares to 9,980 hectares, a net loss of about 682 hectares (−6.4%). New forest grew on about 29 hectares, but 711 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
In the same region
Measured cities near Santa Catarina
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Monterrey14.2 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 120
- Ciudad General Escobedo19.6 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 8%
- Air quality
- 106
- Ciudad Apodaca29.5 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 106
- Ciudad Benito Juárez36.9 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 106
- Saltillo59.1 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 5%
- Air quality
- 71
- Monclova167.4 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 72
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Frequently asked
Questions about Santa Catarina
What is the air quality (AQI) in Santa Catarina right now?
The latest reading for Santa Catarina shows an AQI of 106 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups), measured Nov 11, 10:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Monterrey, Centro, 14 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Santa Catarina today?
At AQI 106 (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 Santa Catarina been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Santa Catarina's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 38 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 82 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 Santa Catarina lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Catarina has lost about 363 hectares of forest (about 510 football pitches): 5.5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (96%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Catarina shrank from about 10,700 hectares to 9,980 hectares, a net loss of about 682 hectares (−6.4%). New forest grew on about 29 hectares, but 711 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Santa Catarina?
Santa Catarina has an estimated 11,310 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 3.6% tree cover, 31 percentage points short of the 35% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Santa Catarina need?
Santa Catarina needs roughly 98,646 more trees to close a 31-point shortfall against its 35% tree-cover target — about 2,170 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Santa Catarina's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Vista a la Sierra, 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 Vista a la Sierra; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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