City report · Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia
Palmira Air quality today
Air quality in Palmira currently reads AQI 33 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 33
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.3
- tree cover
- 19.0%
- trees in this area
- 59.7K
- more trees needed
- 34.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Alfonso Lopez, Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 17, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Palmira · AQI 33 (Good)
Palmira's tree count comes to 59,690 trees across 12.57 km², 11 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 34,558 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Palmira today: AQI 33, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 03:00 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
6.3
PM10
6.4
NO₂
12.0
O₃
35.0
SO₂
3.9
CO
221.0
- 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 Palmira's daily AQI at 25 on average, from 14 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 52 on Nov 7.
Where Palmira stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Palmira: Below target
19.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
59,690
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
34,558
CO₂ if planted / yr
760.3 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Palmira lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Palmira has lost about 929 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 11% 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 February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 929 haabout 1,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 924 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2001, when about 138 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 | 137 ha | 1 ha | 138 ha |
| 2002 | 37 ha | under 1 ha | 37 ha |
| 2003 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2004 | 117 ha | under 1 ha | 117 ha |
| 2005 | 63 ha | under 1 ha | 64 ha |
| 2006 | 42 ha | under 1 ha | 42 ha |
| 2007 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2008 | 83 ha | under 1 ha | 84 ha |
| 2009 | 114 ha | 1 ha | 115 ha |
| 2010 | 44 ha | under 1 ha | 44 ha |
| 2011 | 86 ha | under 1 ha | 86 ha |
| 2012 | 60 ha | 1 ha | 62 ha |
| 2013 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2014 | 50 ha | under 1 ha | 50 ha |
| 2015 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2016 | 13 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2017 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2018 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2019 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2020 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2021 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2022 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2023 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2024 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Palmira?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good97% · 900 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good2.7% · 25 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
- 3,080 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,660 ha
- Overall change
- −419 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Palmira shrank from about 3,080 hectares to 2,660 hectares, a net loss of about 419 hectares (−14%). New forest grew on about 99 hectares, but 518 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 Palmira
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Cali27.3 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 7%
- Air quality
- 83
- Guadalajara de Buga40.7 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 28%
- Air quality
- 21
- Tuluá62.2 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 23
- Buenaventura89.4 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 50%
- Air quality
- 18
- Popayán126.9 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 32
- Armenia131.2 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 66
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Frequently asked
Questions about Palmira
What is the air quality (AQI) in Palmira right now?
The latest reading for Palmira shows an AQI of 33 (Good), observed Nov 11, 03:00 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 Palmira today?
At AQI 33 (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 Palmira been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Palmira's daily AQI at 25 on average, from 14 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 52 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Palmira lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Palmira has lost about 929 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 11% 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 Palmira shrank from about 3,080 hectares to 2,660 hectares, a net loss of about 419 hectares (−14%). New forest grew on about 99 hectares, but 518 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Palmira?
Palmira has an estimated 59,690 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 19.0% tree cover, 11 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Palmira need?
Palmira needs roughly 34,558 more trees to close a 11-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 760.3 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Palmira'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 Alfonso Lopez; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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