City report · Buenos Aires, Argentina
Merlo Air quality today
Air quality in Merlo currently reads AQI 8 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 8
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 1.5
- tree cover
- 25.3%
- trees in this area
- 79.5K
- more trees needed
- 14.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Merlo, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Feb 26, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Merlo · AQI 8 (Good)
Merlo's tree count comes to 79,482 trees across 12.57 km², 5 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 14,765 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Merlo today: AQI 8, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 15:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 25 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 2 station cities within 25 km, e.g. Castelar and Gregorio de Laferrère
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
1.5
PM10
7.7
NO₂
4.2
O₃
81.0
SO₂
2.5
CO
154.0
- 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 Merlo's daily AQI at 39 on average, from 24 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 8.
Where Merlo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Merlo: Below target
25.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
79,482
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
14,765
CO₂ if planted / yr
324.8 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Merlo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Merlo has lost about 131 hectares of forest (about 180 football pitches): 4.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (82%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 131 haabout 180 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.6%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 107 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2017, when about 26 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 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2005 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2006 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2012 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 7 ha |
| 2013 | 6 ha | 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2014 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2015 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2016 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2017 | 24 ha | 2 ha | 26 ha |
| 2018 | 7 ha | 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2020 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2021 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2022 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2023 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2024 | 7 ha | 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2025 | 8 ha | 8 ha | 16 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Merlo?
- Towns and roadscleared for good48% · 62 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good34% · 44 ha
- Loggingcan grow back1.9% · 3 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
- 1,180 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 1,270 ha
- Overall change
- +87 hamore forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Merlo grew from about 1,180 hectares to 1,270 hectares, a net gain of about 87 hectares (+7.4%). New forest grew on about 165 hectares, while 78 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 Merlo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Laferrere16.1 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 9
- José C. Paz17.1 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 7
- Ezeiza28.0 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 9
- Lanús31.1 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 9
- Buenos Aires32.6 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 9
- Quilmes43.7 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 9
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Frequently asked
Questions about Merlo
What is the air quality (AQI) in Merlo right now?
The latest reading for Merlo shows an AQI of 8 (Good), observed Nov 10, 15:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 2 ground-station cities within 25 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Merlo today?
At AQI 8 (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 Merlo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Merlo's daily AQI at 39 on average, from 24 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 70 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Merlo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Merlo has lost about 131 hectares of forest (about 180 football pitches): 4.6% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (82%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Merlo grew from about 1,180 hectares to 1,270 hectares, a net gain of about 87 hectares (+7.4%). New forest grew on about 165 hectares, while 78 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Merlo?
Merlo has an estimated 79,482 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 25.3% tree cover, 5 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Merlo need?
Merlo needs roughly 14,765 more trees to close a 5-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 324.8 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Merlo'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 Merlo; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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