Air quality comparison · Venezuela, 255 km apart
Barquisimeto vs Maracaibo Air quality index (AQI) today
Maracaibo has cleaner air than Barquisimeto right now: AQI 64 (Moderate) against 72 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maracaibo averaged AQI 51 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Barquisimeto has lost more forest since 2001. Barquisimeto 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 64
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 15.9 µg/m³1.1× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 16:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Barquisimeto72Maracaibo64
Head to head
Barquisimeto vs Maracaibo at a glance
Maracaibo is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Barquisimeto on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Barquisimeto | Maracaibo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 72 | 64 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 21.6 | 15.9 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 57 | 51 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 65 ha | 18 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 12.2% (better) | 8.2% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 55.9K | 49.5K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Barquisimeto and Maracaibo right now?
Maracaibo has cleaner air than Barquisimeto right now: AQI 64 (Moderate) 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. Maracaibo's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
BarquisimetoMaracaibo
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.
Maracaibo: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maracaibo averaged AQI 51 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 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
- Barquisimeto3Maracaibo4
- Average AQI
- Barquisimeto57Maracaibo51
- Worst day, AQI
- Barquisimeto72Maracaibo60
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Barquisimeto | Maracaibo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 65 | 45 |
| Nov 5 | 68 | 42 |
| Nov 6 | 58 | 60 |
| Nov 7 | 53 | 51 |
| Nov 8 | 42 | 47 |
| Nov 9 | 40 | 54 |
| Nov 10 | 72 | 60 |
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 Maracaibo today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
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.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Barquisimeto and Maracaibo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Barquisimeto's air is cleaner than 36% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Maracaibo's is cleaner than 43%. Within Venezuela, that is 0% and 9% of its 57 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Barquisimeto
- Beats 36%
- Maracaibo
- Beats 43%
More tree cover than…
- Barquisimeto
- Beats 27%
- Maracaibo
- Beats 17%
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 Maracaibo?
Barquisimeto has lost more: about 65 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 18 ha around Maracaibo. 62 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: 2017, with 15 ha lost.
| Barquisimeto | Maracaibo | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 65 ha | 18 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 62 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (53%) | Storms, floods and other natural causes (80%) |
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.
Maracaibo
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Barquisimeto or Maracaibo?
Barquisimeto has more tree cover: 12.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.2% around Maracaibo, or about 38,327 trees against 18,625.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Barquisimeto | Maracaibo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 38.3K (better) | 18.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 55.9K | 49.5K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 843K kg (better) | 410K kg |
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 Maracaibo: your questions answered
Is Maracaibo cleaner than Barquisimeto?
On air quality, yes, right now: Maracaibo reads AQI 64 against 72, a gap of 8 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maracaibo averaged AQI 51 against 57, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Barquisimeto and Maracaibo today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Barquisimeto reads AQI 72 and Maracaibo reads AQI 64.
Which has lost more forest, Barquisimeto or Maracaibo?
Barquisimeto has lost more: about 65 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 18 ha around Maracaibo. 62 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Barquisimeto or Maracaibo?
Barquisimeto has more tree cover: 12.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.2% around Maracaibo, or about 38,327 trees against 18,625. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Barquisimeto and Maracaibo need?
Barquisimeto needs about 55,920 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Maracaibo about 49,516 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Barquisimeto and Maracaibo 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 Maracaibo 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 Sep 6, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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