City report · Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines
Zamboanga Air quality today
Air quality in Zamboanga currently reads AQI 16 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 16
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 2.9
- tree cover
- 22.5%
- trees in this area
- 49.8K
- more trees needed
- 16.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Canelar, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 5, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Zamboanga · AQI 16 (Good)
Zamboanga's tree count comes to 49,763 trees across 8.85 km² of land, 7 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 16,588 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Zamboanga today: AQI 16, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 21:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
2.9
PM10
3.3
NO₂
3.1
O₃
55.0
SO₂
1.6
CO
164.0
- 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 Zamboanga's daily AQI at 21 on average, from 10 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 4.
Where Zamboanga stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Zamboanga: Below target
22.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 8.85 km² of land.
Trees in this area
49,763
Target trees
66,351
More trees needed
16,588
CO₂ if planted / yr
364.9 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Zamboanga lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Zamboanga has lost about 559 hectares of forest (about 780 football pitches): 8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 559 haabout 780 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 542 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 84 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 | 17 ha | 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2002 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2003 | 46 ha | under 1 ha | 47 ha |
| 2004 | 20 ha | 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2005 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2006 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2007 | 83 ha | 1 ha | 84 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2009 | 36 ha | 1 ha | 37 ha |
| 2010 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 39 ha |
| 2011 | 15 ha | 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2012 | 22 ha | 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2013 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2014 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2015 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2016 | 24 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2017 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2018 | 20 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2019 | 20 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2020 | 12 ha | 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2021 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2022 | 35 ha | 2 ha | 37 ha |
| 2023 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2024 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2025 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Zamboanga?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good64% · 358 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good33% · 184 ha
- Loggingcan grow back1.4% · 8 ha
Also: shifting farming, storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 9,870 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,710 ha
- Overall change
- −156 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Zamboanga stayed about the same size, at about 9,710 hectares: new forest grew on about 118 hectares, and about 275 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 Zamboanga
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Jolo152.1 km
Philippines
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 19
- Pagadian181.5 km
Philippines
- Tree cover
- 50%
- Air quality
- 43
- Cotabato242.3 km
Philippines
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 7
- Marawi City272.3 km
Philippines
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 4
- Midsayap272.9 km
Philippines
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 7
Also compared:Zamboanga vs ManilaZamboanga vs DavaoZamboanga vs Cebu City
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Frequently asked
Questions about Zamboanga
What is the air quality (AQI) in Zamboanga right now?
The latest reading for Zamboanga shows an AQI of 16 (Good), observed Nov 10, 21:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Zamboanga today?
At AQI 16 (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 Zamboanga been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Zamboanga's daily AQI at 21 on average, from 10 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Zamboanga lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Zamboanga has lost about 559 hectares of forest (about 780 football pitches): 8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Zamboanga stayed about the same size, at about 9,710 hectares: new forest grew on about 118 hectares, and about 275 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Zamboanga?
Zamboanga has an estimated 49,763 trees across the 8.85 km² of land measured — 22.5% tree cover, 7 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Zamboanga need?
Zamboanga needs roughly 16,588 more trees to close a 7-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 364.9 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Zamboanga'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 Canelar; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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