City report · El Salvador
Santa Tecla
Measured across a 2 km radius around Col Santa Monica, Santa Tecla, El Salvador (12.57 km²)
- Tree cover
- 33.4%
- Air quality
- 23Good
- Trees in this area
- 105K
- More trees needed
- 0
- Area analyzed
- 12.57 km²
- Satellite image
- Sep 10, 2026
Santa Tecla's tree count comes to 104,929 trees across 12.57 km² — already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area. Air quality currently reads AQI 23 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Santa Tecla: Healthy tree cover
33.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
104,929
Target trees
104,929
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Air quality detail
Air quality in Santa Tecla today: AQI 23, Good
Observed Oct 19, 00:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
3.2
PM10
3.2
NO₂
6.6
O₃
48.0
SO₂
1.8
CO
339.0
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Santa Tecla lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Tecla has lost about 1,290 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 5.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (93%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city centre.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,290 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,190 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 43 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 106 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 182 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 | 24 ha | 2 ha | 26 ha |
| 2002 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2003 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2004 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 33 ha |
| 2005 | 49 ha | 2 ha | 51 ha |
| 2006 | 80 ha | 1 ha | 81 ha |
| 2007 | 55 ha | under 1 ha | 56 ha |
| 2008 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2009 | 31 ha | under 1 ha | 31 ha |
| 2010 | 17 ha | 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2011 | 25 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2012 | 63 ha | 4 ha | 67 ha |
| 2013 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2014 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2015 | 24 ha | 4 ha | 28 ha |
| 2016 | 154 ha | 28 ha | 182 ha |
| 2017 | 137 ha | 18 ha | 155 ha |
| 2018 | 67 ha | 8 ha | 75 ha |
| 2019 | 44 ha | 3 ha | 47 ha |
| 2020 | 64 ha | 5 ha | 69 ha |
| 2021 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2022 | 40 ha | 4 ha | 43 ha |
| 2023 | 42 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2024 | 47 ha | 9 ha | 56 ha |
| 2025 | 49 ha | 1 ha | 50 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Santa Tecla?
- Towns and roadscleared for good55% · 703 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good37% · 476 ha
- Shifting farmingcan grow back2.9% · 38 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, logging, mining and energy, wildfires, 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
- 25,800 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 25,300 ha
- Overall change
- −505 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Tecla stayed about the same size, at about 25,300 hectares: new forest grew on about 45 hectares, and about 550 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 centre, 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 Tecla
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Santa Ana45.5 km
El Salvador
- Tree cover
- 38%
- Air quality
- 40
- Sonsonate47.7 km
El Salvador
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 19
- Jutiapa93.9 km
Guatemala
- Tree cover
- 70%
- Air quality
- 70
- Usulután98.4 km
El Salvador
- Tree cover
- 52%
- Air quality
- 16
- San Miguel121.0 km
El Salvador
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 36
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Frequently asked
Questions about Santa Tecla
What is the tree count in Santa Tecla?
Santa Tecla has an estimated 104,929 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 33.4% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Santa Tecla need?
Santa Tecla has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
What is the air quality (AQI) in Santa Tecla right now?
The latest reading for Santa Tecla shows an AQI of 23 (Good), observed Oct 19, 00:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
How much forest has the area around Santa Tecla lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Tecla has lost about 1,290 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 5.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (93%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 43 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 106 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Tecla stayed about the same size, at about 25,300 hectares: new forest grew on about 45 hectares, and about 550 hectares were lost.
How is Santa Tecla's tree cover and air quality measured?
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 Col Santa Monica; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover. 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.
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