Air quality comparison · Venezuela, 275 km apart
Barquisimeto vs Caracas Air quality index (AQI) today
Caracas has cleaner air than Barquisimeto right now: AQI 33 (Good) against 72 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Barquisimeto averaged AQI 56 against 65, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Caracas has lost more forest since 2001. Caracas has more tree cover.
Venezuela
AQI 72
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 21.6 µg/m³1.4× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 09:00 local
Venezuela
AQI 33
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 5.9 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 02:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Barquisimeto72Caracas33
Head to head
Barquisimeto vs Caracas at a glance
Caracas is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Barquisimeto on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Barquisimeto | Caracas | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 72 | 33 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 21.6 | 5.9 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 56 (better) | 65 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 65 ha (better) | 297 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 12.2% | 29.5% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 55.9K | 1.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Barquisimeto and Caracas right now?
Caracas has cleaner air than Barquisimeto right now: AQI 33 (Good) against 72 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Barquisimeto's PM2.5 is about 1.4× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
BarquisimetoCaracas
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Barquisimeto: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Caracas: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Barquisimeto averaged AQI 56 against 65, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Barquisimeto5Caracas1
- Average AQI
- Barquisimeto56Caracas65
- Worst day, AQI
- Barquisimeto72Caracas80
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Barquisimeto | Caracas |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 68 | 80 |
| Nov 6 | 58 | 67 |
| Nov 7 | 53 | 57 |
| Nov 8 | 42 | 58 |
| Nov 9 | 40 | 68 |
| Nov 10 | 72 | 57 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Barquisimeto and Caracas today?
Barquisimeto (AQI 72, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Caracas (AQI 33, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Barquisimeto
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Caracas
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Barquisimeto
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Caracas
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Barquisimeto
- Not needed for most people.
- Caracas
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Barquisimeto
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Caracas
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Barquisimeto and Caracas compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Barquisimeto's air is cleaner than 36% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Caracas's is cleaner than 76%. Within Venezuela, that is 0% and 57% of its 57 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Barquisimeto
- Beats 36%
- Caracas
- Beats 76%
More tree cover than…
- Barquisimeto
- Beats 27%
- Caracas
- Beats 67%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Barquisimeto or Caracas?
Caracas has lost more: about 297 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 65 ha around Barquisimeto. 252 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Measured within 10 km of each center, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: a wider circle than the one for tree cover, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Worst year: 2007, with 8 ha lost.
Worst year: 2015, with 33 ha lost.
| Barquisimeto | Caracas | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 65 ha (better) | 297 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.2% (better) | 2.3% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 62 ha (better) | 252 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (53%) | Towns and roads (69%) |
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Barquisimeto
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Caracas
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Barquisimeto or Caracas?
Caracas has more tree cover: 29.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.2% around Barquisimeto, or about 92,677 trees against 38,327.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Barquisimeto | Caracas | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 38.3K | 92.7K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 55.9K | 1.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 843K kg | 2.0M kg (better) |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Barquisimeto vs Caracas: your questions answered
Is Caracas cleaner than Barquisimeto?
On air quality, yes, right now: Caracas reads AQI 33 against 72, a gap of 39 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Barquisimeto averaged AQI 56 against 65, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Barquisimeto and Caracas today?
In Barquisimeto, at AQI 72: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Caracas, at AQI 33: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Barquisimeto or Caracas?
Caracas has lost more: about 297 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 65 ha around Barquisimeto. 252 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Barquisimeto or Caracas?
Caracas has more tree cover: 29.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 12.2% around Barquisimeto, or about 92,677 trees against 38,327. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Barquisimeto and Caracas need?
Barquisimeto needs about 55,920 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Caracas about 1,571 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Barquisimeto and Caracas measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Barquisimeto vs Caracas comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Aug 24, 2026 and Aug 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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