Air quality comparison · Brazil, 936 km apart
Brasília vs Rio de Janeiro Air quality index (AQI) today
Brasília has cleaner air than Rio de Janeiro right now: AQI 10 (Good) against 23 (Good).
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, Brasília averaged AQI 43 against 77, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Brasília has lost more forest since 2001. Brasília has more tree cover.
Brazil
AQI 10
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 1.9 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 17:00 local
Brazil
AQI 23
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 4.2 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 14:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Brasília10Rio de Janeiro23
Head to head
Brasília vs Rio de Janeiro at a glance
Brasília is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Rio de Janeiro on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Brasília | Rio de Janeiro | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 10 (better) | 23 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 1.9 (better) | 4.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 43 (better) | 77 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 81 ha | 45 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 27.0% (better) | 21.4% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 9.4K (better) | 21.9K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Brasília and Rio de Janeiro right now?
Brasília has cleaner air than Rio de Janeiro right now: AQI 10 (Good) against 23 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Rio de Janeiro is read from a nearby ground station and Brasília is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
BrasíliaRio de Janeiro
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).
Brasília: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Rio de Janeiro: Ground station · Centro, 400 m away · median of 8 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Rio City Hall, Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro · MonitorAr-Rio.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Brasília averaged AQI 43 against 77, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 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
- Brasília7Rio de Janeiro0
- Average AQI
- Brasília43Rio de Janeiro77
- Worst day, AQI
- Brasília63Rio de Janeiro112
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Brasília | Rio de Janeiro |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 63 | 112 |
| Nov 5 | 54 | 87 |
| Nov 6 | 59 | 94 |
| Nov 7 | 39 | 59 |
| Nov 8 | 36 | 59 |
| Nov 9 | 34 | 60 |
| Nov 10 | 19 | 65 |
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 Brasília and Rio de Janeiro today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Brasília and Rio de Janeiro compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Brasília's air is cleaner than 96% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Rio de Janeiro's is cleaner than 86%. Within Brazil, that is 92% and 64% of its 304 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Brasília
- Beats 96%
- Rio de Janeiro
- Beats 86%
More tree cover than…
- Brasília
- Beats 62%
- Rio de Janeiro
- Beats 50%
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, Brasília or Rio de Janeiro?
Brasília has lost more: about 81 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 45 ha around Rio de Janeiro. 37 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: 2025, with 28 ha lost.
Worst year: 2017, with 13 ha lost.
| Brasília | Rio de Janeiro | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 81 ha | 45 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 5.5% | 1.1% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 37 ha | 27 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Wildfires (42%) | Towns and roads (59%) |
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.
Brasília
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Rio de Janeiro
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Brasília or Rio de Janeiro?
Brasília has more tree cover: 27.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 21.4% around Rio de Janeiro, or about 84,823 trees against 54,456.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Brasília | Rio de Janeiro | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 84.8K (better) | 54.5K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 9.4K (better) | 21.9K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.9M kg (better) | 1.2M 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
Brasília vs Rio de Janeiro: your questions answered
Is Brasília cleaner than Rio de Janeiro?
On air quality, yes, right now: Brasília reads AQI 10 against 23, a gap of 13 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, Brasília averaged AQI 43 against 77, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Brasília and Rio de Janeiro today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Brasília reads AQI 10 and Rio de Janeiro reads AQI 23.
Which has lost more forest, Brasília or Rio de Janeiro?
Brasília has lost more: about 81 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 45 ha around Rio de Janeiro. 37 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Brasília or Rio de Janeiro?
Brasília has more tree cover: 27.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 21.4% around Rio de Janeiro, or about 84,823 trees against 54,456. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Brasília and Rio de Janeiro need?
Brasília needs about 9,425 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Rio de Janeiro about 21,884 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Brasília and Rio de Janeiro 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. Rio de Janeiro is read from a nearby ground station and Brasília is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Brasília vs Rio de Janeiro 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 (Oct 20, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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