City report · El Salvador
Sonsonate Air quality today
Air quality in Sonsonate currently reads AQI 23 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 23
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.7
- tree cover
- 41.1%
- trees in this area
- 129K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Sonsonate, El Salvador (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 10, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Sonsonate · AQI 23 (Good)
Sonsonate's tree count comes to 129,119 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Sonsonate today: AQI 23, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 145 km, e.g. Villa Nueva and Guatemala City
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.7
PM10
11.8
NO₂
0.9
O₃
114.0
SO₂
2.5
CO
157.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sonsonate's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 37 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 6.
Where Sonsonate stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Sonsonate: Healthy tree cover
41.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
129,119
Target trees
129,119
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Sonsonate lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sonsonate has lost about 996 hectares of forest (about 1,400 football pitches): 6.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 996 haabout 1,400 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 987 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2005, when about 91 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 | 76 ha | 2 ha | 78 ha |
| 2002 | 44 ha | under 1 ha | 44 ha |
| 2003 | 35 ha | under 1 ha | 35 ha |
| 2004 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2005 | 90 ha | under 1 ha | 91 ha |
| 2006 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2007 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2008 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2009 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 33 ha |
| 2010 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2011 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2012 | 37 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2013 | 41 ha | under 1 ha | 41 ha |
| 2014 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2015 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2016 | 53 ha | under 1 ha | 54 ha |
| 2017 | 61 ha | under 1 ha | 61 ha |
| 2018 | 58 ha | under 1 ha | 59 ha |
| 2019 | 37 ha | under 1 ha | 37 ha |
| 2020 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2021 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2022 | 42 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2023 | 33 ha | under 1 ha | 33 ha |
| 2024 | 47 ha | under 1 ha | 47 ha |
| 2025 | 41 ha | 1 ha | 42 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Sonsonate?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good93% · 929 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good5.7% · 57 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
- 21,100 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 20,600 ha
- Overall change
- −471 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sonsonate shrank from about 21,100 hectares to 20,600 hectares, a net loss of about 471 hectares (−2.2%). New forest grew on about 346 hectares, but 817 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 Sonsonate
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Santa Tecla47.7 km
El Salvador
- Tree cover
- 33%
- Air quality
- 21
- Apopa59.6 km
El Salvador
- Tree cover
- 52%
- Air quality
- 28
- Jutiapa65.6 km
Guatemala
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 18
- Jalapa106.1 km
Guatemala
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 18
Also compared:Sonsonate vs San Miguel
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Frequently asked
Questions about Sonsonate
What is the air quality (AQI) in Sonsonate right now?
The latest reading for Sonsonate shows an AQI of 23 (Good), observed Nov 10, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 145 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Sonsonate today?
At AQI 23 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Sonsonate been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Sonsonate's daily AQI at 50 on average, from 37 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Sonsonate lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Sonsonate has lost about 996 hectares of forest (about 1,400 football pitches): 6.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Sonsonate shrank from about 21,100 hectares to 20,600 hectares, a net loss of about 471 hectares (−2.2%). New forest grew on about 346 hectares, but 817 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Sonsonate?
Sonsonate has an estimated 129,119 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 41.1% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Sonsonate need?
Sonsonate has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Sonsonate'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 Sonsonate; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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