Air quality comparison · Argentina, 648 km apart
Buenos Aires vs Córdoba Air quality index (AQI) today
Buenos Aires has cleaner air than Córdoba right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 29 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Córdoba averaged AQI 35 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Córdoba has lost more forest since 2001. Buenos Aires has more tree cover.
Argentina
AQI 9
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 1.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 13:00 local
Argentina
AQI 29
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 5.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 15:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Buenos Aires9Córdoba29
Head to head
Buenos Aires vs Córdoba at a glance
Buenos Aires is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Córdoba on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Buenos Aires | Córdoba | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 9 (better) | 29 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 1.7 (better) | 5.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 42 | 35 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 14 ha (better) | 64 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 13.2% (better) | 8.3% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 50.3K (better) | 68.1K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Buenos Aires and Córdoba right now?
Buenos Aires has cleaner air than Córdoba right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 29 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Buenos Aires is read from a nearby ground station and Córdoba is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
Buenos AiresCórdoba
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).
Buenos Aires: Ground station · Avenida Raul Scalabrini Ortiz 1355, Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 5.1 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Luca.
Córdoba: 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?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Córdoba averaged AQI 35 against 42, 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
- Buenos Aires3Córdoba4
- Average AQI
- Buenos Aires42Córdoba35
- Worst day, AQI
- Buenos Aires63Córdoba47
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Buenos Aires | Córdoba |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 43 | 35 |
| Nov 5 | 36 | 41 |
| Nov 6 | 50 | 28 |
| Nov 7 | 26 | 28 |
| Nov 8 | 63 | 47 |
| Nov 9 | 47 | 37 |
| Nov 10 | 29 | 30 |
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 Buenos Aires and Córdoba 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 Buenos Aires and Córdoba compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Buenos Aires's air is cleaner than 96% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Córdoba's is cleaner than 80%. Within Argentina, that is 67% and 25% of its 37 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Buenos Aires
- Beats 96%
- Córdoba
- Beats 80%
More tree cover than…
- Buenos Aires
- Beats 30%
- Córdoba
- 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, Buenos Aires or Córdoba?
Córdoba has lost more: about 64 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 14 ha around Buenos Aires. 60 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: 2011, with 5 ha lost.
Worst year: 2009, with 11 ha lost.
| Buenos Aires | Córdoba | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 14 ha (better) | 64 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 13 ha (better) | 60 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (96%) | Towns and roads (67%) |
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.
Buenos Aires
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Córdoba
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Buenos Aires or Córdoba?
Buenos Aires has more tree cover: 13.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.3% around Córdoba, or about 39,520 trees against 26,049.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Buenos Aires | Córdoba | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 39.5K (better) | 26.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 50.3K (better) | 68.1K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 869K kg (better) | 573K 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
Buenos Aires vs Córdoba: your questions answered
Is Buenos Aires cleaner than Córdoba?
On air quality, yes, right now: Buenos Aires reads AQI 9 against 29, a gap of 20 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Córdoba averaged AQI 35 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Buenos Aires and Córdoba today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Buenos Aires reads AQI 9 and Córdoba reads AQI 29.
Which has lost more forest, Buenos Aires or Córdoba?
Córdoba has lost more: about 64 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 14 ha around Buenos Aires. 60 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Buenos Aires or Córdoba?
Buenos Aires has more tree cover: 13.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.3% around Córdoba, or about 39,520 trees against 26,049. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Buenos Aires and Córdoba need?
Buenos Aires needs about 50,298 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Córdoba about 68,104 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Buenos Aires and Córdoba 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. Buenos Aires is read from a nearby ground station and Córdoba 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 Buenos Aires vs Córdoba 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 (Mar 8, 2026 and Mar 2, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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