Air quality comparison · Argentina, 1085 km apart
Buenos Aires vs San Miguel de Tucumán Air quality index (AQI) today
Buenos Aires has cleaner air than San Miguel de Tucumán right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 56 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Buenos Aires averaged AQI 42 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. San Miguel de Tucumán 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 56
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 11.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 13:10 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Buenos Aires9San Miguel de Tucumán56
Head to head
Buenos Aires vs San Miguel de Tucumán at a glance
Buenos Aires is ahead on 6 of 6 measures, and San Miguel de Tucumán on 0. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Buenos Aires | San Miguel de Tucumán | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 9 (better) | 56 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 1.7 (better) | 11.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 42 (better) | 52 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 14 ha (better) | 2,150 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 13.2% (better) | 10.1% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 50.3K (better) | 62.5K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Buenos Aires and San Miguel de Tucumán right now?
Buenos Aires has cleaner air than San Miguel de Tucumán right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 56 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Buenos AiresSan Miguel de Tucumán
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).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Buenos Aires averaged AQI 42 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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 Aires6San Miguel de Tucumán1
- Average AQI
- Buenos Aires42San Miguel de Tucumán52
- Worst day, AQI
- Buenos Aires63San Miguel de Tucumán68
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Buenos Aires | San Miguel de Tucumán |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 43 | 48 |
| Nov 5 | 36 | 68 |
| Nov 6 | 50 | 53 |
| Nov 7 | 26 | 37 |
| Nov 8 | 63 | 49 |
| Nov 9 | 47 | 62 |
| Nov 10 | 29 | 47 |
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 San Miguel de Tucumán today?
Buenos Aires (AQI 9, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
San Miguel de Tucumán (AQI 56, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Buenos Aires
- A good day to be active outside.
- San Miguel de Tucumán
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Buenos Aires
- Open them to air the house.
- San Miguel de Tucumán
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Buenos Aires
- Not needed.
- San Miguel de Tucumán
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Buenos Aires
- Not needed.
- San Miguel de Tucumán
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Buenos Aires and San Miguel de Tucumán 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 San Miguel de Tucumán's is cleaner than 52%. Within Argentina, that is 67% and 8% of its 37 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Buenos Aires
- Beats 96%
- San Miguel de Tucumán
- Beats 52%
More tree cover than…
- Buenos Aires
- Beats 30%
- San Miguel de Tucumán
- Beats 21%
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 San Miguel de Tucumán?
San Miguel de Tucumán has lost more: about 2,150 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 14 ha around Buenos Aires. 2,140 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: 2008, with 225 ha lost.
| Buenos Aires | San Miguel de Tucumán | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 14 ha (better) | 2,150 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 13 ha (better) | 2,140 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (96%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (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.
Buenos Aires
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
San Miguel de Tucumán
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Buenos Aires or San Miguel de Tucumán?
Buenos Aires has more tree cover: 13.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.1% around San Miguel de Tucumán, or about 39,520 trees against 31,730.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Buenos Aires | San Miguel de Tucumán | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 39.5K (better) | 31.7K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 50.3K (better) | 62.5K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 869K kg (better) | 698K 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 San Miguel de Tucumán: your questions answered
Is Buenos Aires cleaner than San Miguel de Tucumán?
On air quality, yes, right now: Buenos Aires reads AQI 9 against 56, a gap of 47 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, Buenos Aires averaged AQI 42 against 52, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Buenos Aires and San Miguel de Tucumán today?
In Buenos Aires, at AQI 9: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In San Miguel de Tucumán, at AQI 56: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Buenos Aires or San Miguel de Tucumán?
San Miguel de Tucumán has lost more: about 2,150 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 14 ha around Buenos Aires. 2,140 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Buenos Aires or San Miguel de Tucumán?
Buenos Aires has more tree cover: 13.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.1% around San Miguel de Tucumán, or about 39,520 trees against 31,730. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Buenos Aires and San Miguel de Tucumán need?
Buenos Aires needs about 50,298 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and San Miguel de Tucumán about 62,518 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Buenos Aires and San Miguel de Tucumán 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 come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Buenos Aires vs San Miguel de Tucumán 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 Sep 23, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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