Air quality comparison · Bolivia, 13 km apart
Cochabamba vs Sacaba Air quality index (AQI) today
Sacaba has cleaner air than Cochabamba right now: AQI 36 (Good) against 53 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, both averaged AQI 30. Cochabamba has lost more forest since 2001. Cochabamba has more tree cover.
Bolivia
AQI 53
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 10.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 17:00 local
Bolivia
AQI 36
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 7.1 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 13:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Cochabamba53Sacaba36
Head to head
Cochabamba vs Sacaba at a glance
Sacaba is ahead on 3 of 6 measures, and Cochabamba on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Cochabamba | Sacaba | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 53 | 36 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 10.7 | 7.1 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 30 | 30 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 27 ha | 9 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 11.4% (better) | 9.2% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 58.4K (better) | 65.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Cochabamba and Sacaba right now?
Sacaba has cleaner air than Cochabamba right now: AQI 36 (Good) against 53 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
CochabambaSacaba
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).
Cochabamba: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Sacaba: 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, both averaged AQI 30. The two are close enough that the air model behind these daily figures barely separates them, so their lines nearly overlap.
- Cleaner days
- Cochabamba0Sacaba1
- Average AQI
- Cochabamba30Sacaba30
- Worst day, AQI
- Cochabamba45Sacaba44
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Cochabamba | Sacaba |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 39 | 39 |
| Nov 5 | 38 | 38 |
| Nov 6 | 31 | 31 |
| Nov 7 | 34 | 34 |
| Nov 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Nov 9 | 15 | 15 |
| Nov 10 | 45 | 44 |
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 Cochabamba and Sacaba today?
Cochabamba (AQI 53, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Sacaba (AQI 36, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Cochabamba
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Sacaba
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Cochabamba
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Sacaba
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Cochabamba
- Not needed for most people.
- Sacaba
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Cochabamba
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Sacaba
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Cochabamba and Sacaba compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Cochabamba's air is cleaner than 56% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Sacaba's is cleaner than 73%. Within Bolivia, that is 0% and 25% of its 9 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Cochabamba
- Beats 56%
- Sacaba
- Beats 73%
More tree cover than…
- Cochabamba
- Beats 25%
- Sacaba
- Beats 19%
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, Cochabamba or Sacaba?
Cochabamba has lost more: about 27 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 9 ha around Sacaba. 11 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: 2008, with 8 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with 2 ha lost.
| Cochabamba | Sacaba | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 27 ha | 9 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.3% | 2.3% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 11 ha | 2 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Wildfires (36%) | Logging (38%) |
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.
Cochabamba
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Sacaba
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Cochabamba or Sacaba?
Cochabamba has more tree cover: 11.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.2% around Sacaba, or about 35,814 trees against 28,903.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Cochabamba | Sacaba | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 35.8K (better) | 28.9K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 58.4K (better) | 65.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 788K kg (better) | 636K 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
Cochabamba vs Sacaba: your questions answered
Is Sacaba cleaner than Cochabamba?
On air quality, yes, right now: Sacaba reads AQI 36 against 53, a gap of 17 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, both averaged AQI 30.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Cochabamba and Sacaba today?
In Cochabamba, at AQI 53: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Sacaba, at AQI 36: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Cochabamba or Sacaba?
Cochabamba has lost more: about 27 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 9 ha around Sacaba. 11 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Cochabamba or Sacaba?
Cochabamba has more tree cover: 11.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 9.2% around Sacaba, or about 35,814 trees against 28,903. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Cochabamba and Sacaba need?
Cochabamba needs about 58,434 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Sacaba about 65,345 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 13 km apart read differently?
Air changes over short distances with traffic, industry, wind and hills, and each reading comes from the nearest ground stations or, where there are none, from a regional model. A gap of a few points between neighbors is within normal variation, while a gap that crosses an EPA band is worth noticing.
Are Cochabamba and Sacaba 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 Cochabamba vs Sacaba 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 24, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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