City report · Baja California, Mexico
Tijuana Air quality today
Air quality in Tijuana currently reads AQI 66 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 66
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 17.1
- tree cover
- 5.4%
- trees in this area
- 17.0K
- more trees needed
- 77.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around 9 Section, El Grano, Tijuana, B.C., Mexico (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 19, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Tijuana · AQI 66 (Moderate)
Tijuana's tree count comes to 16,965 trees across 12.57 km², 25 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 77,283 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Tijuana today: AQI 66, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · La Mesa, 2.6 km away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
17.1
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
4219.7
Data: OpenAQ · AirNow, Sinaica Mexico
- 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 Tijuana's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 39 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 77 on Nov 6.
Where Tijuana stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Tijuana: Critically low
5.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
16,965
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
77,283
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,700 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tijuana lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tijuana has lost about 23 hectares of forest (about 33 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (66%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2018: satellite photo from September 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 23 haabout 33 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 16%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 15 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 5 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2005 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2007 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | 1 ha | 3 ha | 4 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2013 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2014 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | 3 ha | 5 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Tijuana?
- Towns and roadscleared for good48% · 11 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back27% · 6 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good13% · 3 ha
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, 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
- 680 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 774 ha
- Overall change
- +94 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tijuana grew from about 680 hectares to 774 hectares, a net gain of about 94 hectares (+14%). New forest grew on about 127 hectares, while 34 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 Tijuana
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Rosarito16.3 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 2%
- Air quality
- 66
- Chula Vista17.0 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 6%
- Air quality
- 23
- San Diego28.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 23
- El Cajon32.7 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 21
- Escondido69.0 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 15
- Ensenada79.8 km
Mexico
- Tree cover
- 2%
- Air quality
- 32
Also compared:Tijuana vs Mexico CityTijuana vs PueblaTijuana vs Santiago de QuerétaroTijuana vs León de los Aldama
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Frequently asked
Questions about Tijuana
What is the air quality (AQI) in Tijuana right now?
The latest reading for Tijuana shows an AQI of 66 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 07:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is La Mesa, 2.6 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Tijuana today?
At AQI 66 (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 Tijuana been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tijuana's daily AQI at 58 on average, from 39 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 77 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 Tijuana lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tijuana has lost about 23 hectares of forest (about 33 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (66%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tijuana grew from about 680 hectares to 774 hectares, a net gain of about 94 hectares (+14%). New forest grew on about 127 hectares, while 34 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Tijuana?
Tijuana has an estimated 16,965 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 5.4% tree cover, 25 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Tijuana need?
Tijuana needs roughly 77,283 more trees to close a 25-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,700 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Tijuana's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near 9 Section, 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 9 Section; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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