Air quality comparison · Colombia, 35 km apart
Manizales vs Pereira Air quality index (AQI) today
Manizales has cleaner air than Pereira right now: AQI 86 (Moderate) against 94 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Manizales averaged AQI 36 against 39, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Pereira has lost more forest since 2001. Manizales has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Manizales86Pereira94
Head to head
Manizales vs Pereira at a glance
Manizales is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Pereira on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Manizales | Pereira | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 86 (better) | 94 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 30.6 | 30.1 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 36 (better) | 39 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 2,400 ha (better) | 3,180 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 34.9% (better) | 22.1% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 0 (better) | 24.8K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Manizales and Pereira right now?
Manizales has cleaner air than Pereira right now: AQI 86 (Moderate) against 94 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Manizales's PM2.5 is about 2.0× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Pereira's PM2.5 is about 2.0× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
ManizalesPereira
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).
Manizales: Estimate · model corrected with 8 station cities within 185 km, e.g. Rionegro and Medellín. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 8 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index.
Pereira: Estimate · model corrected with 9 station cities within 205 km, e.g. Rionegro and Madrid. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 9 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Manizales averaged AQI 36 against 39, 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
- Manizales4Pereira2
- Average AQI
- Manizales36Pereira39
- Worst day, AQI
- Manizales45Pereira51
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Manizales | Pereira |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 29 | 34 |
| Nov 6 | 36 | 33 |
| Nov 7 | 32 | 39 |
| Nov 8 | 34 | 32 |
| Nov 9 | 45 | 47 |
| Nov 10 | 42 | 51 |
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 Manizales and Pereira today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Manizales and Pereira compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Manizales's air is cleaner than 28% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Pereira's is cleaner than 24%. Within Colombia, that is 4% and 2% of its 48 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Manizales
- Beats 28%
- Pereira
- Beats 24%
More tree cover than…
- Manizales
- Beats 77%
- Pereira
- Beats 51%
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, Manizales or Pereira?
Pereira has lost more: about 3,180 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,400 ha around Manizales. 2,590 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: 2017, with 211 ha lost.
Worst year: 2017, with 336 ha lost.
| Manizales | Pereira | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2,400 ha (better) | 3,180 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 9.1% (better) | 14% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 2,020 ha (better) | 2,590 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (82%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (65%) |
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.
Manizales
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
Pereira
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Manizales or Pereira?
Manizales has more tree cover: 34.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 22.1% around Pereira, or about 109,642 trees against 69,429.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Manizales | Pereira | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 110K (better) | 69.4K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 0 (better) | 24.8K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.4M kg (better) | 1.5M 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
Manizales vs Pereira: your questions answered
Is Manizales cleaner than Pereira?
On air quality, yes, right now: Manizales reads AQI 86 against 94, 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. Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Manizales averaged AQI 36 against 39, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Manizales and Pereira today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Manizales reads AQI 86 and Pereira reads AQI 94.
Which has lost more forest, Manizales or Pereira?
Pereira has lost more: about 3,180 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,400 ha around Manizales. 2,590 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Manizales or Pereira?
Manizales has more tree cover: 34.9% of the land within 2 km of its center against 22.1% around Pereira, or about 109,642 trees against 69,429. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Manizales and Pereira need?
Manizales needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Pereira about 24,819 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 35 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 Manizales and Pereira 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 Manizales vs Pereira 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 (Aug 20, 2026 and Aug 20, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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