Air quality comparison · Bolivia, 260 km apart
Santa Cruz de la Sierra vs Sucre Air quality index (AQI) today
Sucre has cleaner air than Santa Cruz de la Sierra right now: AQI 18 (Good) against 43 (Good).
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, Sucre averaged AQI 13 against 45, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Santa Cruz de la Sierra has lost more forest since 2001. Santa Cruz de la Sierra has more tree cover.
Bolivia
AQI 43
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 7.3 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 12, 05:00 local
Bolivia
AQI 18
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 3.8 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 11, 02:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra43Sucre18
Head to head
Santa Cruz de la Sierra vs Sucre at a glance
Sucre is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Santa Cruz de la Sierra on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Santa Cruz de la Sierra | Sucre | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 43 | 18 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 7.3 | 3.8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 6 days. | 45 | 13 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 1,610 ha | 9 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 13.6% (better) | 0.5% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 51.5K (better) | 92.7K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Sucre right now?
Sucre has cleaner air than Santa Cruz de la Sierra right now: AQI 18 (Good) against 43 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
Santa Cruz de la SierraSucre
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).
Santa Cruz de la Sierra: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Sucre: 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?
Over the past 6 days, on modeled daily averages, Sucre averaged AQI 13 against 45, 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
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra0Sucre6
- Average AQI
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra45Sucre13
- Worst day, AQI
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra68Sucre17
The daily numbers (6 days)
| Day | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | Sucre |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6 | 68 | 12 |
| Nov 7 | 68 | 14 |
| Nov 8 | 50 | 12 |
| Nov 9 | 22 | 17 |
| Nov 10 | 31 | 6 |
| Nov 11 | 32 | 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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Sucre 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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Sucre compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Santa Cruz de la Sierra's air is cleaner than 67% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Sucre's is cleaner than 90%. Within Bolivia, that is 13% and 38% of its 9 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra
- Beats 67%
- Sucre
- Beats 90%
More tree cover than…
- Santa Cruz de la Sierra
- Beats 31%
- Sucre
- Beats 1%
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, Santa Cruz de la Sierra or Sucre?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has lost more: about 1,610 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 9 ha around Sucre. 1,580 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: 2010, with 146 ha lost.
Worst year: 2001, with 4 ha lost.
| Santa Cruz de la Sierra | Sucre | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 1,610 ha | 9 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 34% | under 1% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 1,580 ha | 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (55%) | Logging (67%) |
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.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
Sucre
2017: satellite photo from May 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Santa Cruz de la Sierra or Sucre?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has more tree cover: 13.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.5% around Sucre, or about 42,726 trees against 1,571.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Santa Cruz de la Sierra | Sucre | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 42.7K (better) | 1.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 51.5K (better) | 92.7K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 940K kg (better) | 34.6K 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
Santa Cruz de la Sierra vs Sucre: your questions answered
Is Sucre cleaner than Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
On air quality, yes, right now: Sucre reads AQI 18 against 43, a gap of 25 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, Sucre averaged AQI 13 against 45, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Sucre today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Santa Cruz de la Sierra reads AQI 43 and Sucre reads AQI 18.
Which has lost more forest, Santa Cruz de la Sierra or Sucre?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has lost more: about 1,610 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 9 ha around Sucre. 1,580 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Santa Cruz de la Sierra or Sucre?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has more tree cover: 13.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 0.5% around Sucre, or about 42,726 trees against 1,571. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Sucre need?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra needs about 51,522 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Sucre about 92,677 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Sucre 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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra vs Sucre 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 28, 2026 and Oct 26, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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