City report · Colombia
Manizales Air quality today
Air quality in Manizales currently reads AQI 86 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 86
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 30.6
- tree cover
- 34.9%
- trees in this area
- 110K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Manizales, Caldas, Colombia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 20, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Manizales · AQI 86 (Moderate)
Manizales's tree count comes to 109,642 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Manizales today: AQI 86, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 23:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 8 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 8 station cities within 185 km, e.g. Rionegro and Medellín
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
30.6
PM10
20.0
NO₂
49.8
O₃
19.0
SO₂
6.6
CO
491.0
- 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 Manizales's daily AQI at 38 on average, from 29 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 68 on Nov 9.
Where Manizales stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Manizales: Healthy tree cover
34.9% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
109,642
Target trees
109,642
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Manizales lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Manizales has lost about 2,400 hectares of forest (about 3,400 football pitches): 9.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2,400 haabout 3,400 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 9.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 2,020 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 70 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 168 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 211 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 | 59 ha | 8 ha | 67 ha |
| 2002 | 85 ha | 4 ha | 88 ha |
| 2003 | 54 ha | 3 ha | 57 ha |
| 2004 | 80 ha | 21 ha | 101 ha |
| 2005 | 55 ha | 17 ha | 72 ha |
| 2006 | 81 ha | 53 ha | 134 ha |
| 2007 | 60 ha | 6 ha | 66 ha |
| 2008 | 53 ha | 5 ha | 58 ha |
| 2009 | 94 ha | 43 ha | 137 ha |
| 2010 | 52 ha | 11 ha | 63 ha |
| 2011 | 128 ha | 12 ha | 140 ha |
| 2012 | 74 ha | 14 ha | 88 ha |
| 2013 | 53 ha | 8 ha | 61 ha |
| 2014 | 54 ha | 5 ha | 59 ha |
| 2015 | 20 ha | under 1 ha | 20 ha |
| 2016 | 127 ha | 1 ha | 128 ha |
| 2017 | 197 ha | 14 ha | 211 ha |
| 2018 | 176 ha | 8 ha | 184 ha |
| 2019 | 162 ha | 38 ha | 200 ha |
| 2020 | 82 ha | 35 ha | 117 ha |
| 2021 | 58 ha | 20 ha | 78 ha |
| 2022 | 41 ha | 15 ha | 56 ha |
| 2023 | 51 ha | 15 ha | 67 ha |
| 2024 | 66 ha | 5 ha | 71 ha |
| 2025 | 56 ha | 21 ha | 77 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Manizales?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good82% · 1,970 ha
- Loggingcan grow back15% · 352 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good2.1% · 51 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, shifting farming, 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
- 25,900 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 25,200 ha
- Overall change
- −664 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Manizales shrank from about 25,900 hectares to 25,200 hectares, a net loss of about 664 hectares (−2.6%). New forest grew on about 240 hectares, but 904 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 Manizales
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Cartago57.4 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 41
- Armenia61.8 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 66
- Ibagué77.8 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 67
- Girardot City115.2 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 55
- Rionegro121.9 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 58
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Frequently asked
Questions about Manizales
What is the air quality (AQI) in Manizales right now?
The latest reading for Manizales shows an AQI of 86 (Moderate), observed Nov 10, 23:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 8 ground-station cities within 185 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 Manizales today?
At AQI 86 (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 Manizales been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Manizales's daily AQI at 38 on average, from 29 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 68 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Manizales lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Manizales has lost about 2,400 hectares of forest (about 3,400 football pitches): 9.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (84%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 70 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 168 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Manizales shrank from about 25,900 hectares to 25,200 hectares, a net loss of about 664 hectares (−2.6%). New forest grew on about 240 hectares, but 904 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Manizales?
Manizales has an estimated 109,642 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 34.9% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Manizales need?
Manizales has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Manizales'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 Manizales; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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