City report · Ceará, Brazil
Fortaleza Air quality today
Air quality in Fortaleza currently reads AQI 55 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 55
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 11.4
- tree cover
- 4.6%
- trees in this area
- 8.9K
- more trees needed
- 49.4K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Jacarecanga, Fortaleza - Ceará, Brazil (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 31, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Fortaleza · AQI 55 (Moderate)
Fortaleza's tree count comes to 8,945 trees across 7.78 km² of land, 25 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 49,394 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Fortaleza today: AQI 55, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 16:00 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
11.4
PM10
20.5
NO₂
1.2
O₃
50.0
SO₂
0.4
CO
159.0
- 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 Fortaleza's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 47 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 10.
Where Fortaleza stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Fortaleza: Critically low
4.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 7.78 km² of land.
Trees in this area
8,945
Target trees
58,339
More trees needed
49,394
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,087 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Fortaleza lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Fortaleza has lost about 166 hectares of forest (about 230 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (85%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 166 haabout 230 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 12%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 141 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2025, when about 32 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 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2002 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2003 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2008 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2012 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2013 | 19 ha | 8 ha | 26 ha |
| 2014 | 9 ha | 2 ha | 11 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2016 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | 19 ha | 8 ha | 26 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2021 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2022 | 25 ha | under 1 ha | 25 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2025 | 30 ha | 2 ha | 32 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Fortaleza?
- Towns and roadscleared for good54% · 90 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good21% · 35 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good10% · 17 ha
Also: shifting farming, storms, floods and other natural causes, logging, 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
- 1,070 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,170 ha
- Overall change
- +105 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Fortaleza grew from about 1,070 hectares to 1,170 hectares, a net gain of about 105 hectares (+9.8%). New forest grew on about 124 hectares, while 18 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 Fortaleza
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
Build your own
Compare Fortaleza with anywhere
This place
Fortaleza
Use this data
Put Fortaleza's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Fortaleza
What is the air quality (AQI) in Fortaleza right now?
The latest reading for Fortaleza shows an AQI of 55 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 16:00 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 Fortaleza today?
At AQI 55 (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 Fortaleza been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Fortaleza's daily AQI at 51 on average, from 47 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 55 on Nov 10. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Fortaleza lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Fortaleza has lost about 166 hectares of forest (about 230 football pitches): 12% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (85%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Fortaleza grew from about 1,070 hectares to 1,170 hectares, a net gain of about 105 hectares (+9.8%). New forest grew on about 124 hectares, while 18 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Fortaleza?
Fortaleza has an estimated 8,945 trees across the 7.78 km² of land measured — 4.6% tree cover, 25 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Fortaleza need?
Fortaleza needs roughly 49,394 more trees to close a 25-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,087 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Fortaleza'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 Jacarecanga; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address