Air quality comparison · Brazil, 360 km apart
Rio de Janeiro vs São Paulo Air quality index (AQI) today
Rio de Janeiro has cleaner air than São Paulo right now: AQI 23 (Good) against 59 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, São Paulo averaged AQI 60 against 71, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Rio de Janeiro has lost more forest since 2001. Rio de Janeiro has more tree cover.
Brazil
AQI 23
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 4.2 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 14:00 local
Brazil
AQI 59
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 13.5 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 12:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Rio de Janeiro23São Paulo59
Head to head
Rio de Janeiro vs São Paulo at a glance
Rio de Janeiro is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and São Paulo on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Rio de Janeiro | São Paulo | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 23 (better) | 59 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 4.2 (better) | 13.5 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 71 | 60 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 45 ha | 30 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 21.4% (better) | 10.6% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 21.9K (better) | 59.4K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo right now?
Rio de Janeiro has cleaner air than São Paulo right now: AQI 23 (Good) against 59 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Rio de JaneiroSão Paulo
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).
Rio de Janeiro: Ground station · Centro, 400 m away · median of 8 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Rio City Hall, Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro · MonitorAr-Rio.
São Paulo: Ground station · Parque D.Pedro II, São Paulo, Brazil, 900 m away · median of 4 stations. Data: World Air Quality Index Project, CETESB - Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 6 days?
But over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, São Paulo averaged AQI 60 against 71, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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
- Rio de Janeiro1São Paulo5
- Average AQI
- Rio de Janeiro71São Paulo60
- Worst day, AQI
- Rio de Janeiro94São Paulo84
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Rio de Janeiro | São Paulo |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 5 | 87 | 84 |
| Nov 6 | 94 | 74 |
| Nov 7 | 59 | 74 |
| Nov 8 | 59 | 30 |
| Nov 9 | 60 | 44 |
| Nov 10 | 65 | 55 |
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 Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo today?
Rio de Janeiro (AQI 23, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
São Paulo (AQI 59, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Rio de Janeiro
- A good day to be active outside.
- São Paulo
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Rio de Janeiro
- Open them to air the house.
- São Paulo
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Rio de Janeiro
- Not needed.
- São Paulo
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Rio de Janeiro
- Not needed.
- São Paulo
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Rio de Janeiro's air is cleaner than 86% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and São Paulo's is cleaner than 49%. Within Brazil, that is 64% and 12% of its 304 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Rio de Janeiro
- Beats 86%
- São Paulo
- Beats 49%
More tree cover than…
- Rio de Janeiro
- Beats 50%
- São Paulo
- Beats 23%
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, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo?
Rio de Janeiro has lost more: about 45 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 30 ha around São Paulo. 27 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 13 ha lost.
Worst year: 2005, with 11 ha lost.
| Rio de Janeiro | São Paulo | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 45 ha | 30 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 1.1% (better) | 5.8% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 27 ha | 19 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (59%) | Towns and roads (63%) |
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.
Rio de Janeiro
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
São Paulo
2017: satellite photo from June 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo?
Rio de Janeiro has more tree cover: 21.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.6% around São Paulo, or about 54,456 trees against 32,435.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Rio de Janeiro | São Paulo | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 54.5K (better) | 32.4K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 21.9K (better) | 59.4K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 1.2M kg (better) | 714K 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
Rio de Janeiro vs São Paulo: your questions answered
Is Rio de Janeiro cleaner than São Paulo?
On air quality, yes, right now: Rio de Janeiro reads AQI 23 against 59, a gap of 36 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, São Paulo averaged AQI 60 against 71, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo today?
In Rio de Janeiro, at AQI 23: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In São Paulo, at AQI 59: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo?
Rio de Janeiro has lost more: about 45 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 30 ha around São Paulo. 27 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo?
Rio de Janeiro has more tree cover: 21.4% of the land within 2 km of its center against 10.6% around São Paulo, or about 54,456 trees against 32,435. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo need?
Rio de Janeiro needs about 21,884 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and São Paulo about 59,362 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo 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 come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Rio de Janeiro vs São Paulo 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 24, 2026 and Sep 27, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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