City report · Colombia
Pereira Air quality today
Air quality in Pereira currently reads AQI 72 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 72
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 19.3
- tree cover
- 22.1%
- trees in this area
- 69.4K
- more trees needed
- 24.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 20, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Pereira · AQI 72 (Moderate)
Pereira's tree count comes to 69,429 trees across 12.57 km², 8 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 24,819 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Pereira today: AQI 72, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 03:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 10 ground-station cities within 205 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 10 station cities within 205 km, e.g. Envigado and Rionegro
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
19.3
PM10
18.5
NO₂
38.5
O₃
6.0
SO₂
1.9
CO
228.0
- 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 Pereira's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 32 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 80 on Nov 10.
Where Pereira stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Pereira: Below target
22.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
69,429
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
24,819
CO₂ if planted / yr
546.0 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Pereira lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pereira has lost about 3,180 hectares of forest (about 4,400 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (82%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 3,180 haabout 4,400 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 14%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 2,590 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 63 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 172 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 336 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 | 176 ha | 26 ha | 202 ha |
| 2002 | 197 ha | 54 ha | 251 ha |
| 2003 | 66 ha | 13 ha | 78 ha |
| 2004 | 101 ha | 38 ha | 139 ha |
| 2005 | 142 ha | 4 ha | 146 ha |
| 2006 | 123 ha | 34 ha | 157 ha |
| 2007 | 112 ha | 42 ha | 154 ha |
| 2008 | 114 ha | 18 ha | 132 ha |
| 2009 | 106 ha | 4 ha | 110 ha |
| 2010 | 118 ha | 1 ha | 119 ha |
| 2011 | 216 ha | 59 ha | 275 ha |
| 2012 | 80 ha | 4 ha | 83 ha |
| 2013 | 29 ha | 28 ha | 57 ha |
| 2014 | 43 ha | 25 ha | 68 ha |
| 2015 | 15 ha | 12 ha | 27 ha |
| 2016 | 107 ha | 8 ha | 115 ha |
| 2017 | 309 ha | 27 ha | 336 ha |
| 2018 | 144 ha | 28 ha | 172 ha |
| 2019 | 119 ha | 50 ha | 169 ha |
| 2020 | 66 ha | 4 ha | 69 ha |
| 2021 | 60 ha | 45 ha | 105 ha |
| 2022 | 13 ha | 31 ha | 44 ha |
| 2023 | 36 ha | 13 ha | 49 ha |
| 2024 | 69 ha | 8 ha | 77 ha |
| 2025 | 32 ha | 9 ha | 41 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Pereira?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good65% · 2,060 ha
- Loggingcan grow back18% · 584 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good17% · 533 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
- 23,200 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 21,400 ha
- Overall change
- −1,850 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pereira shrank from about 23,200 hectares to 21,400 hectares, a net loss of about 1,850 hectares (−7.9%). New forest grew on about 177 hectares, but 2,020 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 Pereira
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Cartago25.3 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 26
- Armenia31.0 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 54
- Ibagué68.9 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 53
- Tuluá98.3 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 18%
- Air quality
- 15
- Girardot City113.7 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 36
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Frequently asked
Questions about Pereira
What is the air quality (AQI) in Pereira right now?
The latest reading for Pereira shows an AQI of 72 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 03:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 10 ground-station cities within 205 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 Pereira today?
At AQI 72 (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 Pereira been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Pereira's daily AQI at 44 on average, from 32 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 80 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 Pereira lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Pereira has lost about 3,180 hectares of forest (about 4,400 football pitches): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (82%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss is slowing down: about 63 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 172 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Pereira shrank from about 23,200 hectares to 21,400 hectares, a net loss of about 1,850 hectares (−7.9%). New forest grew on about 177 hectares, but 2,020 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Pereira?
Pereira has an estimated 69,429 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 22.1% tree cover, 8 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Pereira need?
Pereira needs roughly 24,819 more trees to close a 8-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 546.0 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Pereira'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 Pereira; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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