City report · Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo Air quality today
Air quality in Santo Domingo currently reads AQI 65 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 65
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 17.2
- tree cover
- 14.5%
- trees in this area
- 33.3K
- more trees needed
- 35.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around San Carlos, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Jul 28, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Santo Domingo · AQI 65 (Moderate)
Santo Domingo's tree count comes to 33,345 trees across 9.2 km² of land, 16 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 35,645 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Santo Domingo today: AQI 65, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
17.2
PM10
23.7
NO₂
14.6
O₃
44.0
SO₂
8.4
CO
533.0
- 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 Santo Domingo's daily AQI at 62 on average, from 53 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 79 on Nov 5.
Where Santo Domingo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Santo Domingo: Critically low
14.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 9.2 km² of land.
Trees in this area
33,345
Target trees
68,990
More trees needed
35,645
CO₂ if planted / yr
784.2 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Santo Domingo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santo Domingo has lost about 348 hectares of forest (about 490 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 348 haabout 490 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 19%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 345 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2002, when about 26 hectares of forest were lost.
Santo Domingo's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2002 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2003 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2004 | 25 ha | under 1 ha | 25 ha |
| 2005 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2006 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2007 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2008 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2009 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2010 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2011 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2012 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2013 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2014 | 25 ha | under 1 ha | 25 ha |
| 2015 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2016 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2017 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2018 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2019 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2021 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2022 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2023 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2024 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2025 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Santo Domingo?
- Towns and roadscleared for good98% · 340 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good1.5% · 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
- 1,260 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,340 ha
- Overall change
- +80 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santo Domingo grew from about 1,260 hectares to 1,340 hectares, a net gain of about 80 hectares (+6.4%). New forest grew on about 221 hectares, while 140 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 Santo Domingo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- San Francisco de Macorís98.9 km
Dominican Republic
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 36
- La Vega107.0 km
Dominican Republic
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 64
- Salvaleón de Higüey125.9 km
Dominican Republic
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 31
Also compared:Santo Domingo vs Santiago de los Caballeros
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Frequently asked
Questions about Santo Domingo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Santo Domingo right now?
The latest reading for Santo Domingo shows an AQI of 65 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 19:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Santo Domingo today?
At AQI 65 (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 Santo Domingo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Santo Domingo's daily AQI at 62 on average, from 53 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 79 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 Santo Domingo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santo Domingo has lost about 348 hectares of forest (about 490 football pitches): 19% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santo Domingo grew from about 1,260 hectares to 1,340 hectares, a net gain of about 80 hectares (+6.4%). New forest grew on about 221 hectares, while 140 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Santo Domingo?
Santo Domingo has an estimated 33,345 trees across the 9.2 km² of land measured — 14.5% tree cover, 16 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Santo Domingo need?
Santo Domingo needs roughly 35,645 more trees to close a 16-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 784.2 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Santo Domingo'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 2 km radius around San Carlos; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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