Alcalá de Henares vs Alcobendas
Tree cover and air quality for both, measured the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius from each city centre, and the live US EPA air quality index. Same radius and same index, so the two numbers compare directly.
Alcalá de Henares has more tree cover — 21.9% against 12.8%.
Both are reading the same air quality index.
- Tree cover gap
- 9.1 points
- Alcalá de Henares is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 0 AQI
- Both reading the same.
- Trees between them
- 28.6K
- Alcalá de Henares has more standing.
Spain
Spain
Tree cover
Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.
21.9%
12.8%
Air quality index
US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.
39 · Good
39 · Good
Trees standing
Estimated from the measured canopy area.
68.8K
40.2K
Trees still needed
To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.
25.4K
54.0K
CO₂ absorbed each year
By the trees already standing.
1.5M kg
885K kg
Air quality in detail
What each city is breathing
Concentrations in µg/m³, measured at the same moment as the index above. Lower is better in every row. Both are read from nearby ground stations.
PM2.5
Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.
4 µg/m³
5 µg/m³
PM10
Coarser particles — dust, pollen, road grit.
14 µg/m³
19 µg/m³
Ozone
Forms in sunlight; peaks on hot, still afternoons.
84 µg/m³
84 µg/m³
The last week, day by day
A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon. The week says whether it was the weather or the place.
| Day | Alcalá de Henares | Alcobendas |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept | 29 | 31 |
| 23 Sept | 30 | 30 |
| 24 Sept | 34 | 34 |
| 25 Sept | 34 | 34 |
| 26 Sept | 33 | 32 |
| 27 Sept | 32 | 31 |
| 28 Sept | 35 | 33 |
Reading these numbers
What is actually being measured
Tree cover
The share of ground under canopy inside a 2 km radius of each city centre, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It is a measurement of that circle, not of the whole municipality — which is exactly what makes the two comparable, since city boundaries are drawn to wildly different rules around the world. Alcalá de Henares leads here at 21.9%.
Air quality index
The live US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations — ground stations where a city has them nearby, and a model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so this is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place: Alcalá de Henares reads 39 (good) and Alcobendas reads 39 (good) right now.
Frequently asked
Alcalá de Henares and Alcobendas, answered
Which has more trees, Alcalá de Henares or Alcobendas?
Alcalá de Henares, with roughly 68,801 trees inside its 2 km radius against 40,212. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Alcalá de Henares has the denser canopy at 21.9%.
Which has better air quality, Alcalá de Henares or Alcobendas?
Both are reading 39 on the US EPA index at the moment. Air quality changes through the day, so this can separate within hours.
How many more trees does each city need?
Alcalá de Henares needs about 25,447 more to reach its canopy target, and Alcobendas about 54,035. The target is the same share of ground for both, so the figures are directly comparable.
Are these two measured the same way?
Yes — that is the point of the page. Identical radius, identical satellite source at 10 m detail, and the same US EPA index for air. Nothing here is adjusted for population, city limits or climate, so the numbers describe the same-sized circle of ground in each place.
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