City report · Minas Gerais, Brazil
Montes Claros Air quality today
Air quality in Montes Claros currently reads AQI 5 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 5
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 0.8
- tree cover
- 7.5%
- trees in this area
- 23.6K
- more trees needed
- 70.7K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Morrinhos, Montes Claros - MG, Brazil (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 7, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Montes Claros · AQI 5 (Good)
Montes Claros's tree count comes to 23,562 trees across 12.57 km², 22 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 70,686 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Montes Claros today: AQI 5, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 02:00 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
0.8
PM10
0.9
NO₂
2.3
O₃
46.0
SO₂
0.4
CO
120.0
- 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 Montes Claros's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 6 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 49 on Nov 5.
Where Montes Claros stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Montes Claros: Critically low
7.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
23,562
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
70,686
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,555 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Montes Claros lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Montes Claros has lost about 1,190 hectares of forest (about 1,700 football pitches): 9.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,190 haabout 1,700 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 9.3%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,150 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2012, when about 142 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 | 55 ha | under 1 ha | 55 ha |
| 2002 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2003 | 77 ha | 2 ha | 79 ha |
| 2004 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 64 ha | 2 ha | 65 ha |
| 2007 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2008 | 67 ha | under 1 ha | 67 ha |
| 2009 | 65 ha | under 1 ha | 65 ha |
| 2010 | 57 ha | under 1 ha | 57 ha |
| 2011 | 80 ha | under 1 ha | 80 ha |
| 2012 | 139 ha | 3 ha | 142 ha |
| 2013 | 68 ha | under 1 ha | 69 ha |
| 2014 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 28 ha |
| 2015 | 47 ha | 8 ha | 55 ha |
| 2016 | 30 ha | 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2017 | 72 ha | 6 ha | 78 ha |
| 2018 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2019 | 17 ha | 5 ha | 22 ha |
| 2020 | 37 ha | under 1 ha | 37 ha |
| 2021 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2022 | 45 ha | under 1 ha | 45 ha |
| 2023 | 40 ha | under 1 ha | 40 ha |
| 2024 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2025 | 37 ha | 3 ha | 40 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Montes Claros?
- Towns and roadscleared for good48% · 573 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good45% · 538 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good3.5% · 41 ha
Also: wildfires, 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
- 10,500 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 9,850 ha
- Overall change
- −651 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Montes Claros shrank from about 10,500 hectares to 9,850 hectares, a net loss of about 651 hectares (−6.2%). New forest grew on about 227 hectares, but 878 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 Montes Claros
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Teófilo Otoni279.6 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 24%
- Air quality
- 6
- Sete Lagoas306.4 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 16%
- Air quality
- 14
- Governador Valadares310.4 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 3
- Itabira327.6 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 22
- Vespasiano328.9 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 18
- Ipatinga334.6 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 8
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Frequently asked
Questions about Montes Claros
What is the air quality (AQI) in Montes Claros right now?
The latest reading for Montes Claros shows an AQI of 5 (Good), observed Nov 11, 02:00 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 Montes Claros today?
At AQI 5 (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 Montes Claros been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Montes Claros's daily AQI at 19 on average, from 6 on Nov 11 to an hourly peak of 49 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 Montes Claros lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Montes Claros has lost about 1,190 hectares of forest (about 1,700 football pitches): 9.3% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Montes Claros shrank from about 10,500 hectares to 9,850 hectares, a net loss of about 651 hectares (−6.2%). New forest grew on about 227 hectares, but 878 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Montes Claros?
Montes Claros has an estimated 23,562 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 7.5% tree cover, 22 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Montes Claros need?
Montes Claros needs roughly 70,686 more trees to close a 22-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,555 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Montes Claros'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 Morrinhos; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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