City report · Veracruz, Mexico
Veracruz Air quality today
Air quality in Veracruz currently reads AQI 51 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 51
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.3
- tree cover
- 12.4%
- trees in this area
- 39.0K
- more trees needed
- 55.3K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Zona Centro, 91700 Veracruz, Ver., Mexico (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Veracruz · AQI 51 (Moderate)
Veracruz's tree count comes to 38,956 trees across 12.57 km², 18 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 55,292 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Veracruz today: AQI 51, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 245 km, e.g. Puebla and San Pedro Cholula
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.3
PM10
7.4
NO₂
1.1
O₃
73.0
SO₂
2.3
CO
130.0
- 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 Veracruz's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 34 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 65 on Nov 5.
Where Veracruz stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Veracruz: Critically low
12.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
38,956
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
55,292
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,216 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Veracruz lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Veracruz has lost about 271 hectares of forest (about 380 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (96%) 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 northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 271 haabout 380 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 16%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 261 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2008, when about 39 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 | 5 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2002 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2004 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2005 | 19 ha | 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2006 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2007 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2008 | 39 ha | under 1 ha | 39 ha |
| 2009 | 20 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2012 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2013 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2014 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2015 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2017 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2018 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2020 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2021 | 24 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2022 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2023 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2024 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2025 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Veracruz?
- Towns and roadscleared for good81% · 220 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good15% · 42 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back1.8% · 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
- 1,530 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,540 ha
- Overall change
- +18 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Veracruz stayed about the same size, at about 1,540 hectares: new forest grew on about 341 hectares, and about 323 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about Veracruz
What is the air quality (AQI) in Veracruz right now?
The latest reading for Veracruz shows an AQI of 51 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 14:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 245 km, 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 Veracruz today?
At AQI 51 (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 Veracruz been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Veracruz's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 34 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 65 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 Veracruz lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Veracruz has lost about 271 hectares of forest (about 380 football pitches): 16% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (96%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Veracruz stayed about the same size, at about 1,540 hectares: new forest grew on about 341 hectares, and about 323 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Veracruz?
Veracruz has an estimated 38,956 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 12.4% tree cover, 18 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Veracruz need?
Veracruz needs roughly 55,292 more trees to close a 18-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,216 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Veracruz'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 Zona Centro; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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