Air quality comparison · Bolivia, 319 km apart
Cochabamba vs Santa Cruz de la Sierra Air quality index (AQI) today
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has cleaner air than Cochabamba right now: AQI 43 (Good) against 53 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 5 days, on modeled daily averages, Cochabamba averaged AQI 27 against 48, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Santa Cruz de la Sierra has lost more forest since 2001. Santa Cruz de la Sierra 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 43
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 7.3 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 12, 05:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Cochabamba53Santa Cruz de la Sierra43
Head to head
Cochabamba vs Santa Cruz de la Sierra at a glance
Santa Cruz de la Sierra is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Cochabamba on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Cochabamba | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 53 | 43 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 10.7 | 7.3 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 5 days. | 27 (better) | 48 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 27 ha (better) | 1,610 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 11.4% | 13.6% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 58.4K | 51.5K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra right now?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has cleaner air than Cochabamba right now: AQI 43 (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.
CochabambaSanta Cruz de la Sierra
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.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 5 days?
But over the past 5 days, on modeled daily averages, Cochabamba averaged AQI 27 against 48, 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
- Cochabamba4Santa Cruz de la Sierra1
- Average AQI
- Cochabamba27Santa Cruz de la Sierra48
- Worst day, AQI
- Cochabamba45Santa Cruz de la Sierra68
The daily numbers (5 days)
| Day | Cochabamba | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6 | 31 | 68 |
| Nov 7 | 34 | 68 |
| Nov 8 | 9 | 50 |
| Nov 9 | 15 | 22 |
| Nov 10 | 45 | 31 |
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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra today?
Cochabamba (AQI 53, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra (AQI 43, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Exercise outdoors
- Cochabamba
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra
- A good day to be active outside.
Windows
- Cochabamba
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra
- Open them to air the house.
Masks
- Cochabamba
- Not needed for most people.
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra
- Not needed.
Air purifier
- Cochabamba
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra
- Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Cochabamba's air is cleaner than 57% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra's is cleaner than 67%. Within Bolivia, that is 0% and 13% of its 9 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Cochabamba
- Beats 57%
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra
- Beats 67%
More tree cover than…
- Cochabamba
- Beats 25%
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra
- Beats 31%
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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has lost more: about 1,610 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 27 ha around Cochabamba. 1,580 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: 2010, with 146 ha lost.
| Cochabamba | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 27 ha (better) | 1,610 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.3% (better) | 34% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 11 ha (better) | 1,580 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Wildfires (36%) | Towns and roads (55%) |
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.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Cochabamba or Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has more tree cover: 13.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 11.4% around Cochabamba, or about 42,726 trees against 35,814.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Cochabamba | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 35.8K | 42.7K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 58.4K | 51.5K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 788K kg | 940K kg (better) |
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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra: your questions answered
Is Santa Cruz de la Sierra cleaner than Cochabamba?
On air quality, yes, right now: Santa Cruz de la Sierra reads AQI 43 against 53, a gap of 10 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 5 days, on modeled daily averages, Cochabamba averaged AQI 27 against 48, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra today?
In Cochabamba, at AQI 53: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, at AQI 43: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Which has lost more forest, Cochabamba or Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has lost more: about 1,610 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 27 ha around Cochabamba. 1,580 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Cochabamba or Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has more tree cover: 13.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 11.4% around Cochabamba, or about 42,726 trees against 35,814. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra need?
Cochabamba needs about 58,434 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra about 51,522 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra 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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra 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 Sep 28, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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