Air quality comparison · Trinidad and Tobago, 55 km apart
Port of Spain vs Rio Claro Air quality index (AQI) today
Rio Claro has cleaner air than Port of Spain right now: AQI 12 (Good) against 24 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Rio Claro averaged AQI 34 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Rio Claro has lost more forest since 2001. Rio Claro has more tree cover.
Trinidad and Tobago
AQI 24
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 4.3 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 12:00 local
Trinidad and Tobago
AQI 12
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 1.9 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 10:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Port of Spain24Rio Claro12
Head to head
Port of Spain vs Rio Claro at a glance
Rio Claro is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Port of Spain on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Port of Spain | Rio Claro | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 24 | 12 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 4.3 | 1.9 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 42 | 34 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 562 ha (better) | 2,340 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 22.3% | 76.7% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 22.6K | 0 (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Port of Spain and Rio Claro right now?
Rio Claro has cleaner air than Port of Spain right now: AQI 12 (Good) against 24 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Port of Spain is read from a nearby ground station and Rio Claro is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
Port of SpainRio Claro
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).
Port of Spain: Ground station · Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 3.8 km away. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, Trinidad & Tobago - Environmental Management Authority.
Rio Claro: 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?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Rio Claro averaged AQI 34 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 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
- Port of Spain0Rio Claro7
- Average AQI
- Port of Spain42Rio Claro34
- Worst day, AQI
- Port of Spain53Rio Claro45
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Port of Spain | Rio Claro |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 53 | 45 |
| Nov 5 | 49 | 35 |
| Nov 6 | 50 | 43 |
| Nov 7 | 47 | 39 |
| Nov 8 | 42 | 34 |
| Nov 9 | 34 | 25 |
| Nov 10 | 18 | 15 |
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 Port of Spain and Rio Claro 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 Port of Spain and Rio Claro compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Port of Spain's air is cleaner than 85% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Rio Claro's is cleaner than 95%. Within Trinidad and Tobago, that is 25% and 100% of its 5 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Port of Spain
- Beats 85%
- Rio Claro
- Beats 95%
More tree cover than…
- Port of Spain
- Beats 52%
- Rio Claro
- Beats 99%
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, Port of Spain or Rio Claro?
Rio Claro has lost more: about 2,340 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 562 ha around Port of Spain. 2,250 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: 2001, with 113 ha lost.
Worst year: 2010, with 350 ha lost.
| Port of Spain | Rio Claro | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 562 ha (better) | 2,340 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 4.6% (better) | 7.8% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 383 ha (better) | 2,250 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (42%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (87%) |
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.
Port of Spain
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
Rio Claro
2021: satellite photo from December 2020 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Port of Spain or Rio Claro?
Rio Claro has more tree cover: 76.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 22.3% around Port of Spain, or about 240,960 trees against 65,364.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Port of Spain | Rio Claro | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 65.4K | 241K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 22.6K | 0 (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.4M kg | 5.3M 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
Port of Spain vs Rio Claro: your questions answered
Is Rio Claro cleaner than Port of Spain?
On air quality, yes, right now: Rio Claro reads AQI 12 against 24, a gap of 12 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 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Rio Claro averaged AQI 34 against 42, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Port of Spain and Rio Claro today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Port of Spain reads AQI 24 and Rio Claro reads AQI 12.
Which has lost more forest, Port of Spain or Rio Claro?
Rio Claro has lost more: about 2,340 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 562 ha around Port of Spain. 2,250 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Port of Spain or Rio Claro?
Rio Claro has more tree cover: 76.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 22.3% around Port of Spain, or about 240,960 trees against 65,364. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Port of Spain and Rio Claro need?
Port of Spain needs about 22,570 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Rio Claro about 0 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Why can two places 55 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 Port of Spain and Rio Claro 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. Port of Spain is read from a nearby ground station and Rio Claro is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Port of Spain vs Rio Claro 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 22, 2026 and Sep 1, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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