United States · New Mexico · 2 places
Air quality in New Mexico today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Las Cruces has the cleanest air of the 2 New Mexico cities we track (AQI 3, Good), and Albuquerque the worst (AQI 56, Moderate). Albuquerque has the most tree cover, at 10.3% — #232 of 278 large US cities.
Every place is measured the same way, over the same 1.2 mi (2 km) around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
- places tracked
- 2
- average tree cover
- 6.3%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Albuquerque
- 56
- cleanest air now: Las Cruces
- 3
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
New Mexico
Air quality today across New Mexico, city by city
| Albuquerque | 56Moderate | 10.3% | 61.8K | #232 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Cruces | 3Good | 2.4% | 86.7K | #273 of 278 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 1.2 mi (2 km) of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery. The US greenness rank covers cities of 100,000+ people; see the full ranking.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has New Mexico lost?
Since 2001, New Mexico has lost about 754,000 acres (305,000 hectares) of forest (about 3,100 km²): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to wildfires, so much of it can grow back. About 2,560 acres (1,030 hectares) (under 1%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 754,000 acres (305,000 ha)about 3,100 km²
- Share of its forest
- 13%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 2,560 acres (1,030 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 173 acres (70 ha) | 9,640 acres (3,900 ha) | 9,810 acres (3,970 ha) |
| 2002 | 74 acres (30 ha) | 35,000 acres (14,200 ha) | 35,100 acres (14,200 ha) |
| 2003 | 60 acres (24 ha) | 19,600 acres (7,940 ha) | 19,700 acres (7,960 ha) |
| 2004 | 269 acres (109 ha) | 44,000 acres (17,800 ha) | 44,300 acres (17,900 ha) |
| 2005 | 304 acres (123 ha) | 15,500 acres (6,280 ha) | 15,800 acres (6,410 ha) |
| 2006 | 199 acres (80 ha) | 43,000 acres (17,400 ha) | 43,200 acres (17,500 ha) |
| 2007 | 121 acres (49 ha) | 8,020 acres (3,250 ha) | 8,140 acres (3,290 ha) |
| 2008 | 185 acres (75 ha) | 17,000 acres (6,870 ha) | 17,200 acres (6,940 ha) |
| 2009 | 97 acres (39 ha) | 3,580 acres (1,450 ha) | 3,680 acres (1,490 ha) |
| 2010 | 92 acres (37 ha) | 9,360 acres (3,790 ha) | 9,450 acres (3,820 ha) |
| 2011 | 53 acres (21 ha) | 63,000 acres (25,500 ha) | 63,100 acres (25,500 ha) |
| 2012 | 78 acres (31 ha) | 66,900 acres (27,100 ha) | 66,900 acres (27,100 ha) |
| 2013 | 132 acres (53 ha) | 46,400 acres (18,800 ha) | 46,500 acres (18,800 ha) |
| 2014 | 139 acres (56 ha) | 18,000 acres (7,300 ha) | 18,200 acres (7,350 ha) |
| 2015 | 126 acres (51 ha) | 4,680 acres (1,890 ha) | 4,810 acres (1,950 ha) |
| 2016 | 160 acres (65 ha) | 12,400 acres (5,020 ha) | 12,600 acres (5,090 ha) |
| 2017 | 45 acres (18 ha) | 7,820 acres (3,160 ha) | 7,860 acres (3,180 ha) |
| 2018 | 34 acres (14 ha) | 27,400 acres (11,100 ha) | 27,500 acres (11,100 ha) |
| 2019 | 58 acres (24 ha) | 9,330 acres (3,780 ha) | 9,390 acres (3,800 ha) |
| 2020 | 21 acres (8 ha) | 8,340 acres (3,370 ha) | 8,360 acres (3,380 ha) |
| 2021 | 37 acres (15 ha) | 18,000 acres (7,300 ha) | 18,100 acres (7,310 ha) |
| 2022 | 27 acres (11 ha) | 203,000 acres (82,000 ha) | 203,000 acres (82,000 ha) |
| 2023 | 10 acres (4 ha) | 6,720 acres (2,720 ha) | 6,730 acres (2,720 ha) |
| 2024 | 42 acres (17 ha) | 26,300 acres (10,600 ha) | 26,300 acres (10,600 ha) |
| 2025 | 21 acres (9 ha) | 29,100 acres (11,800 ha) | 29,100 acres (11,800 ha) |
Forest loss is speeding up: about 56,600 acres (22,900 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, up from 13,100 acres (5,310 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2022, when about 203,000 acres (82,000 hectares) of forest were lost, mostly to wildfires.
What is causing deforestation in New Mexico?
- Wildfirescan grow back85% · 642,000 acres (260,000 ha)
- Loggingcan grow back8.7% · 65,400 acres (26,500 ha)
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back3.2% · 24,500 acres (9,920 ha)
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, towns and roads, mining and energy, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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