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City report · Maranhão, Brazil

Bacabal Air quality today

Air quality in Bacabal currently reads AQI 75 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Air quality right now

AQI 75

Moderate

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
20.8
tree cover
29.0%
trees in this area
91.1K
more trees needed
3.1K

Measured across a 2 km radius around Bacabal, Maranhão, Brazil (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Bacabal · AQI 75 (Moderate)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Sep 17, 2026

Bacabal's tree count comes to 91,106 trees across 12.57 km², 1 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 3,142 more trees would close the gap.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Bacabal today: AQI 75, Moderate

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Model estimate · no ground station nearby

Health signal

Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

PM2.5

20.8

PM10

24.3

NO₂

5.7

O₃

45.0

SO₂

1.1

CO

390.0

Outdoor exercise
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
Mask
Not needed for most people
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bacabal's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 58 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 127 on Nov 5.

Last 7 daysavg 66 · peak 127
Nov 5: AQI 72 (peak 127)Nov 6: AQI 68 (peak 99)Nov 7: AQI 64 (peak 96)Nov 8: AQI 61 (peak 88)Nov 9: AQI 58 (peak 88)Nov 10: AQI 64 (peak 79)Nov 11: AQI 73 (peak 76)
Nov 5Nov 11

Where Bacabal stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Bacabal: Below target

29.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².

1 points below target

Trees in this area

91,106

Target trees

94,248

More trees needed

3,142

CO₂ if planted / yr

69.1 t

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Bacabal lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bacabal has lost about 4,670 hectares of forest (about 6,500 football pitches): 41% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.

Satellite image of the area around Bacabal, July 2017

2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
4,670 haabout 6,500 football pitches
Share of its forest
41%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
4,590 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

Forest loss is slowing down: about 162 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 439 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2016, when about 664 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Bacabal, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Bacabal, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.664

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Bacabal, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
200110 haunder 1 ha10 ha
200263 haunder 1 ha63 ha
200321 haunder 1 ha21 ha
200437 haunder 1 ha37 ha
200570 haunder 1 ha70 ha
200681 haunder 1 ha81 ha
200757 haunder 1 ha57 ha
200871 haunder 1 ha71 ha
200953 haunder 1 ha53 ha
201068 haunder 1 ha68 ha
201174 haunder 1 ha75 ha
2012131 ha1 ha132 ha
2013242 ha4 ha246 ha
2014413 ha2 ha415 ha
2015250 ha14 ha264 ha
2016658 ha6 ha664 ha
2017604 ha18 ha622 ha
2018514 ha2 ha516 ha
2019178 ha7 ha185 ha
2020200 ha9 ha209 ha
202196 haunder 1 ha97 ha
2022223 ha5 ha228 ha
2023175 ha5 ha180 ha
2024146 ha4 ha150 ha
2025156 haunder 1 ha156 ha

What is causing deforestation around Bacabal?

  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good97% · 4,510 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good1.7% · 78 ha
  • Loggingcan grow back1.6% · 73 ha

Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, unknown causes.

Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.

Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020

Forest in 2000
3,920 ha
Forest in 2020
3,150 ha
Overall change
−770 haless forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bacabal shrank from about 3,920 hectares to 3,150 hectares, a net loss of about 770 hectares (−20%). New forest grew on about 491 hectares, but 1,260 hectares were lost.

These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.

These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.

Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured

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Bacabal air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about Bacabal

What is the air quality (AQI) in Bacabal right now?

The latest reading for Bacabal shows an AQI of 75 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Bacabal today?

At AQI 75 (Moderate): 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. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.

What has the air quality in Bacabal been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bacabal's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 58 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 127 on Nov 5. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

How much forest has the area around Bacabal lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bacabal has lost about 4,670 hectares of forest (about 6,500 football pitches): 41% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 162 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 439 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bacabal shrank from about 3,920 hectares to 3,150 hectares, a net loss of about 770 hectares (−20%). New forest grew on about 491 hectares, but 1,260 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Bacabal?

Bacabal has an estimated 91,106 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 29.0% tree cover, 1 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Bacabal need?

Bacabal needs roughly 3,142 more trees to close a 1-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 69.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.

How are Bacabal's air quality and tree cover measured?

Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 2 km radius around Bacabal; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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