City report · Bolívar, Colombia
Cartagena Air quality today
Air quality in Cartagena currently reads AQI 52 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 52
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.3
- tree cover
- 15.7%
- trees in this area
- 48.9K
- more trees needed
- 44.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Cartagena, Bolivar, Colombia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cartagena · AQI 52 (Moderate)
Cartagena's tree count comes to 48,928 trees across 12.47 km² of land, 14 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 44,565 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cartagena today: AQI 52, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 04:00 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
9.3
PM10
12.2
NO₂
4.0
O₃
85.0
SO₂
3.4
CO
144.0
- 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 Cartagena's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 25 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 58 on Nov 4.
Where Cartagena stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cartagena: Critically low
15.7% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.47 km² of land.
Trees in this area
48,928
Target trees
93,493
More trees needed
44,565
CO₂ if planted / yr
980.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cartagena lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cartagena has lost about 785 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 23% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 785 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 23%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 775 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2018, when about 103 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 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2002 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2003 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2005 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2006 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2007 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2008 | 82 ha | under 1 ha | 82 ha |
| 2009 | 53 ha | under 1 ha | 53 ha |
| 2010 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2011 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2012 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2013 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 12 ha |
| 2014 | 42 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2015 | 96 ha | under 1 ha | 96 ha |
| 2016 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2017 | 57 ha | 2 ha | 59 ha |
| 2018 | 97 ha | 6 ha | 103 ha |
| 2019 | 45 ha | under 1 ha | 45 ha |
| 2020 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2021 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2022 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2023 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2024 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2025 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Cartagena?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good59% · 464 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good36% · 286 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good3.2% · 25 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
- 2,850 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,240 ha
- Overall change
- −611 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cartagena shrank from about 2,850 hectares to 2,240 hectares, a net loss of about 611 hectares (−21%). New forest grew on about 122 hectares, but 733 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 Cartagena
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Sabanalarga67.6 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 48%
- Air quality
- 55
- Malambo93.9 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 51
- Sincelejo122.1 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 53
- Magangué151.9 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 39%
- Air quality
- 34
- Santa Marta169.9 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 44
Also compared:Cartagena vs BogotáCartagena vs CaliCartagena vs Medellín
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Frequently asked
Questions about Cartagena
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cartagena right now?
The latest reading for Cartagena shows an AQI of 52 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 04:00 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 Cartagena 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 Cartagena been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cartagena's daily AQI at 37 on average, from 25 on Nov 6 to an hourly peak of 58 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 Cartagena lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cartagena has lost about 785 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 23% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cartagena shrank from about 2,850 hectares to 2,240 hectares, a net loss of about 611 hectares (−21%). New forest grew on about 122 hectares, but 733 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Cartagena?
Cartagena has an estimated 48,928 trees across the 12.47 km² of land measured — 15.7% tree cover, 14 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cartagena need?
Cartagena needs roughly 44,565 more trees to close a 14-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 980.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Cartagena'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 Cartagena; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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