Air quality comparison · Uruguay, 480 km apart
Maldonado vs Salto Air quality index (AQI) today
Maldonado has cleaner air than Salto right now: AQI 16 (Good) against 36 (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, Salto averaged AQI 21 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Salto has lost more forest since 2001. Salto has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Maldonado16Salto36
Head to head
Maldonado vs Salto at a glance
Maldonado and Salto are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Maldonado | Salto | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 16 (better) | 36 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 2.8 (better) | 6.3 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 42 | 21 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 839 ha (better) | 882 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 17.4% | 35.5% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 39.6K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Maldonado and Salto right now?
Maldonado has cleaner air than Salto right now: AQI 16 (Good) against 36 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
MaldonadoSalto
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).
Maldonado: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Salto: 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, Salto averaged AQI 21 against 42, 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
- Maldonado0Salto6
- Average AQI
- Maldonado42Salto21
- Worst day, AQI
- Maldonado55Salto39
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Maldonado | Salto |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 39 | 13 |
| Nov 6 | 35 | 17 |
| Nov 7 | 45 | 14 |
| Nov 8 | 55 | 39 |
| Nov 9 | 45 | 22 |
| Nov 10 | 32 | 22 |
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 Maldonado and Salto 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 Maldonado and Salto compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Maldonado's air is cleaner than 93% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Salto's is cleaner than 73%. Within Uruguay, that is 50% and 25% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Maldonado
- Beats 93%
- Salto
- Beats 73%
More tree cover than…
- Maldonado
- Beats 40%
- Salto
- Beats 78%
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, Maldonado or Salto?
Salto has lost more: about 882 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 839 ha around Maldonado. 488 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: 2012, with 100 ha lost.
Worst year: 2013, with 124 ha lost.
| Maldonado | Salto | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 839 ha (better) | 882 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 25% | 12% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 558 ha | 488 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (50%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (51%) |
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.
Maldonado
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
Salto
2018: satellite photo from March 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Maldonado or Salto?
Salto has more tree cover: 35.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.4% around Maldonado, or about 107,512 trees against 54,664.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Maldonado | Salto | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 54.7K | 108K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 39.6K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg | 2.4M 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
Maldonado vs Salto: your questions answered
Is Maldonado cleaner than Salto?
On air quality, yes, right now: Maldonado reads AQI 16 against 36, 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 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Salto averaged AQI 21 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Maldonado and Salto today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Maldonado reads AQI 16 and Salto reads AQI 36.
Which has lost more forest, Maldonado or Salto?
Salto has lost more: about 882 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 839 ha around Maldonado. 488 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Maldonado or Salto?
Salto has more tree cover: 35.5% of the land within 2 km of its center against 17.4% around Maldonado, or about 107,512 trees against 54,664. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Maldonado and Salto need?
Maldonado needs about 39,584 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Salto about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Maldonado and Salto 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 Maldonado vs Salto 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 15, 2026 and Mar 13, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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