City report · Santander Department, Colombia
Barrancabermeja Air quality today
Air quality in Barrancabermeja currently reads AQI 52 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 52
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.9
- tree cover
- 32.4%
- trees in this area
- 99.0K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Barrio Galán Gómez, Barrancabermeja, Santander, Colombia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 9, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Barrancabermeja · AQI 52 (Moderate)
Barrancabermeja's tree count comes to 99,039 trees across 12.23 km² of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Barrancabermeja today: AQI 52, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 11:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 250 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 5 station cities within 250 km, e.g. Rionegro and Bello
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
9.9
PM10
6.1
NO₂
1.4
O₃
131.0
SO₂
2.8
CO
173.0
- 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 Barrancabermeja's daily AQI at 32 on average, from 22 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 4.
Where Barrancabermeja stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Barrancabermeja: Healthy tree cover
32.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.23 km² of land.
Trees in this area
99,039
Target trees
99,039
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Barrancabermeja lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Barrancabermeja has lost about 2,050 hectares of forest (about 2,900 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (89%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,050 haabout 2,900 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 14%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,820 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 44 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 67 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2004, when about 203 hectares of forest were lost.
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 104 ha | 1 ha | 105 ha |
| 2002 | 83 ha | 3 ha | 86 ha |
| 2003 | 63 ha | 1 ha | 64 ha |
| 2004 | 197 ha | 6 ha | 203 ha |
| 2005 | 50 ha | 2 ha | 52 ha |
| 2006 | 108 ha | 1 ha | 109 ha |
| 2007 | 133 ha | 4 ha | 137 ha |
| 2008 | 95 ha | 2 ha | 97 ha |
| 2009 | 143 ha | 3 ha | 146 ha |
| 2010 | 59 ha | 4 ha | 63 ha |
| 2011 | 42 ha | 3 ha | 45 ha |
| 2012 | 167 ha | 16 ha | 183 ha |
| 2013 | 49 ha | 5 ha | 54 ha |
| 2014 | 69 ha | 11 ha | 80 ha |
| 2015 | 50 ha | 21 ha | 71 ha |
| 2016 | 70 ha | 30 ha | 100 ha |
| 2017 | 67 ha | 43 ha | 110 ha |
| 2018 | 60 ha | 6 ha | 66 ha |
| 2019 | 19 ha | 7 ha | 26 ha |
| 2020 | 28 ha | 5 ha | 33 ha |
| 2021 | 33 ha | 2 ha | 35 ha |
| 2022 | 29 ha | 5 ha | 34 ha |
| 2023 | 34 ha | 11 ha | 45 ha |
| 2024 | 56 ha | 15 ha | 71 ha |
| 2025 | 15 ha | 20 ha | 35 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Barrancabermeja?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good82% · 1,690 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back11% · 217 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good6.6% · 136 ha
Also: 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
- 10,800 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 10,500 ha
- Overall change
- −278 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Barrancabermeja shrank from about 10,800 hectares to 10,500 hectares, a net loss of about 278 hectares (−2.6%). New forest grew on about 1,210 hectares, but 1,490 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
In the same region
Measured cities near Barrancabermeja
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Girón75.6 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 47
- Bucaramanga81.5 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 48
- Piedecuesta89.3 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 53%
- Air quality
- 58
- Ocaña141.5 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 52
- Cúcuta175.8 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 52
- Tunja177.8 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 19%
- Air quality
- 36
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Frequently asked
Questions about Barrancabermeja
What is the air quality (AQI) in Barrancabermeja right now?
The latest reading for Barrancabermeja shows an AQI of 52 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 11:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 5 ground-station cities within 250 km, 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 Barrancabermeja today?
At AQI 52 (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 Barrancabermeja been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Barrancabermeja's daily AQI at 32 on average, from 22 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Barrancabermeja lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Barrancabermeja has lost about 2,050 hectares of forest (about 2,900 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (89%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 44 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 67 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Barrancabermeja shrank from about 10,800 hectares to 10,500 hectares, a net loss of about 278 hectares (−2.6%). New forest grew on about 1,210 hectares, but 1,490 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Barrancabermeja?
Barrancabermeja has an estimated 99,039 trees across the 12.23 km² of land measured — 32.4% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Barrancabermeja need?
Barrancabermeja has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Barrancabermeja'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 Barrio Galán Gómez; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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