City report · Santander Department, Colombia
Bucaramanga Air quality today
Air quality in Bucaramanga currently reads AQI 48 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 48
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 8.8
- tree cover
- 21.1%
- trees in this area
- 66.3K
- more trees needed
- 28.0K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Antonia Santos, Bucaramanga, Santander, Colombia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 4, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Bucaramanga · AQI 48 (Good)
Bucaramanga's tree count comes to 66,288 trees across 12.57 km², 9 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 27,960 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Bucaramanga today: AQI 48, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 08:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
8.8
PM10
9.3
NO₂
13.2
O₃
59.0
SO₂
3.7
CO
868.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bucaramanga's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 41 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 98 on Nov 5.
Where Bucaramanga stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Bucaramanga: Below target
21.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
66,288
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
27,960
CO₂ if planted / yr
615.1 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Bucaramanga lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bucaramanga has lost about 755 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 4.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) 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 south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 755 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 738 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2012, when about 78 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 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2002 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2003 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2004 | 40 ha | under 1 ha | 41 ha |
| 2005 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 24 ha |
| 2006 | 75 ha | under 1 ha | 76 ha |
| 2007 | 47 ha | under 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2008 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2009 | 49 ha | 1 ha | 50 ha |
| 2010 | 27 ha | 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2011 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 31 ha |
| 2012 | 76 ha | 3 ha | 78 ha |
| 2013 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2014 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2015 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2016 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2017 | 48 ha | under 1 ha | 48 ha |
| 2018 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2019 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2020 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2021 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2022 | 27 ha | under 1 ha | 27 ha |
| 2023 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2024 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2025 | 27 ha | 5 ha | 32 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Bucaramanga?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good50% · 377 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good46% · 344 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good2.2% · 17 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
- 20,400 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 20,000 ha
- Overall change
- −382 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bucaramanga stayed about the same size, at about 20,000 hectares: new forest grew on about 195 hectares, and about 577 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 Bucaramanga
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Piedecuesta17.1 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 53%
- Air quality
- 58
- Barrancabermeja81.5 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 54
- Cúcuta110.2 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 52
- San Cristóbal120.7 km
Venezuela
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 24
- Ocaña126.5 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 52
- Sogamoso158.2 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 72
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Frequently asked
Questions about Bucaramanga
What is the air quality (AQI) in Bucaramanga right now?
The latest reading for Bucaramanga shows an AQI of 48 (Good), observed Nov 10, 08:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Bucaramanga today?
At AQI 48 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Bucaramanga been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Bucaramanga's daily AQI at 52 on average, from 41 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 98 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 Bucaramanga lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Bucaramanga has lost about 755 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 4.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Bucaramanga stayed about the same size, at about 20,000 hectares: new forest grew on about 195 hectares, and about 577 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Bucaramanga?
Bucaramanga has an estimated 66,288 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 21.1% tree cover, 9 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Bucaramanga need?
Bucaramanga needs roughly 27,960 more trees to close a 9-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 615.1 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Bucaramanga'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 Antonia Santos; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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