Air quality comparison · Venezuela, 398 km apart
Maracaibo vs Valencia Air quality index (AQI) today
Valencia has cleaner air than Maracaibo right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 64 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maracaibo averaged AQI 51 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days. Valencia has lost more forest since 2001. Valencia has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Maracaibo64Valencia59
Head to head
Maracaibo vs Valencia at a glance
Maracaibo and Valencia are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Maracaibo | Valencia | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 64 | 59 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 15.9 | 13.4 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 51 (better) | 53 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 18 ha (better) | 441 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 8.2% | 11.1% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 49.5K (better) | 59.4K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Maracaibo and Valencia right now?
Valencia has cleaner air than Maracaibo right now: AQI 59 (Moderate) against 64 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Maracaibo's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
MaracaiboValencia
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).
Maracaibo: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Valencia: 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?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maracaibo averaged AQI 51 against 53, 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
- Maracaibo4Valencia3
- Average AQI
- Maracaibo51Valencia53
- Worst day, AQI
- Maracaibo60Valencia65
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Maracaibo | Valencia |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 45 | 53 |
| Nov 5 | 42 | 57 |
| Nov 6 | 60 | 52 |
| Nov 7 | 51 | 49 |
| Nov 8 | 47 | 50 |
| Nov 9 | 54 | 46 |
| Nov 10 | 60 | 65 |
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 Maracaibo and Valencia 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 Maracaibo and Valencia compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Maracaibo's air is cleaner than 43% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Valencia's is cleaner than 48%. Within Venezuela, that is 9% and 18% of its 57 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Maracaibo
- Beats 43%
- Valencia
- Beats 48%
More tree cover than…
- Maracaibo
- Beats 17%
- Valencia
- Beats 24%
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, Maracaibo or Valencia?
Valencia has lost more: about 441 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 18 ha around Maracaibo. 426 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 15 ha lost.
Worst year: 2007, with 87 ha lost.
| Maracaibo | Valencia | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 18 ha (better) | 441 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 2 ha (better) | 426 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Storms, floods and other natural causes (80%) | Towns and roads (56%) |
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.
Maracaibo
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Valencia
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Maracaibo or Valencia?
Valencia has more tree cover: 11.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.2% around Maracaibo, or about 34,872 trees against 18,625.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Maracaibo | Valencia | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 18.6K | 34.9K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 49.5K (better) | 59.4K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 410K kg | 767K 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
Maracaibo vs Valencia: your questions answered
Is Valencia cleaner than Maracaibo?
On air quality, yes, right now: Valencia reads AQI 59 against 64, a gap of 5 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Maracaibo averaged AQI 51 against 53, and it was the cleaner of the two on 4 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Maracaibo and Valencia today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Maracaibo reads AQI 64 and Valencia reads AQI 59.
Which has lost more forest, Maracaibo or Valencia?
Valencia has lost more: about 441 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 18 ha around Maracaibo. 426 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Maracaibo or Valencia?
Valencia has more tree cover: 11.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.2% around Maracaibo, or about 34,872 trees against 18,625. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Maracaibo and Valencia need?
Maracaibo needs about 49,516 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Valencia about 59,376 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Maracaibo and Valencia 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 Maracaibo vs Valencia 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 (Sep 6, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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