Air quality comparison · Bolivia, 198 km apart
La Paz vs Oruro Air quality index (AQI) today
La Paz has cleaner air than Oruro right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 17 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Oruro averaged AQI 18 against 20, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. La Paz has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
La Paz9Oruro17
Head to head
La Paz vs Oruro at a glance
La Paz is ahead on 4 of 5 measures, and Oruro on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| La Paz | Oruro | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 9 (better) | 17 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 2 (better) | 2.9 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 20 | 18 (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 2.1% (better) | 0.0% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 87.7K (better) | 94.2K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in La Paz and Oruro right now?
La Paz has cleaner air than Oruro right now: AQI 9 (Good) against 17 (Good). NO₂ is setting the index in La Paz, and PM2.5 in Oruro.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
La PazOruro
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).
La Paz: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Oruro: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Oruro averaged AQI 18 against 20, 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
- La Paz2Oruro4
- Average AQI
- La Paz20Oruro18
- Worst day, AQI
- La Paz30Oruro25
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | La Paz | Oruro |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 30 | 20 |
| Nov 6 | 16 | 9 |
| Nov 7 | 26 | 25 |
| Nov 8 | 23 | 20 |
| Nov 9 | 17 | 22 |
| Nov 10 | 9 | 14 |
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 La Paz and Oruro 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 La Paz and Oruro compare with the rest of the world?
Right now La Paz's air is cleaner than 97% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Oruro's is cleaner than 91%. Within Bolivia, that is 88% and 50% of its 9 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- La Paz
- Beats 97%
- Oruro
- Beats 91%
More tree cover than…
- La Paz
- Beats 4%
- Oruro
- Beats 0%
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.
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.
La Paz
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Oruro
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, La Paz or Oruro?
La Paz has more tree cover: 2.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.0% around Oruro, or about 6,597 trees against 0.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| La Paz | Oruro | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 6.6K (better) | 0 |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 87.7K (better) | 94.2K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 145K kg (better) | 0 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
La Paz vs Oruro: your questions answered
Is La Paz cleaner than Oruro?
On air quality, yes, right now: La Paz reads AQI 9 against 17, a gap of 8 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Oruro averaged AQI 18 against 20, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in La Paz and Oruro today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. La Paz reads AQI 9 and Oruro reads AQI 17.
Which has more trees, La Paz or Oruro?
La Paz has more tree cover: 2.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.0% around Oruro, or about 6,597 trees against 0. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do La Paz and Oruro need?
La Paz needs about 87,650 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Oruro about 94,248 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are La Paz and Oruro 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 La Paz vs Oruro 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 19, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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