City report · Santander Department, Colombia
Piedecuesta Air quality today
Air quality in Piedecuesta currently reads AQI 58 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 58
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 13.0
- tree cover
- 52.5%
- trees in this area
- 165K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Piedecuesta, Santander, Colombia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 16, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Piedecuesta · AQI 58 (Moderate)
Piedecuesta's tree count comes to 164,934 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 Piedecuesta today: AQI 58, Moderate
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
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
13.0
PM10
13.3
NO₂
21.0
O₃
51.0
SO₂
4.1
CO
189.0
- 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 Piedecuesta's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 34 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 84 on Nov 5.
Where Piedecuesta stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Piedecuesta: Healthy tree cover
52.5% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
164,934
Target trees
164,934
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Piedecuesta lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Piedecuesta has lost about 936 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 4.9% 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 about 7 km northwest of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 936 haabout 1,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 922 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2009, when about 100 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 | 39 ha | under 1 ha | 40 ha |
| 2002 | 79 ha | under 1 ha | 79 ha |
| 2003 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2004 | 54 ha | 1 ha | 55 ha |
| 2005 | 47 ha | under 1 ha | 47 ha |
| 2006 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2007 | 75 ha | under 1 ha | 76 ha |
| 2008 | 51 ha | under 1 ha | 51 ha |
| 2009 | 99 ha | under 1 ha | 100 ha |
| 2010 | 42 ha | 1 ha | 44 ha |
| 2011 | 35 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2012 | 71 ha | 2 ha | 73 ha |
| 2013 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2014 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2015 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2016 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2017 | 64 ha | under 1 ha | 65 ha |
| 2018 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2019 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2020 | 13 ha | 2 ha | 15 ha |
| 2021 | 12 ha | 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2022 | 36 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2023 | 19 ha | under 1 ha | 19 ha |
| 2024 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2025 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Piedecuesta?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good63% · 585 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good36% · 337 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 22,800 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 22,600 ha
- Overall change
- −157 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Piedecuesta stayed about the same size, at about 22,600 hectares: new forest grew on about 286 hectares, and about 443 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 Piedecuesta
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Girón16.0 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 44%
- Air quality
- 47
- Bucaramanga17.1 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 48
- Barrancabermeja89.3 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 52
- Cúcuta118.6 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 52
- San Cristóbal124.6 km
Venezuela
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 24
- Sogamoso142.2 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 71
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Frequently asked
Questions about Piedecuesta
What is the air quality (AQI) in Piedecuesta right now?
The latest reading for Piedecuesta shows an AQI of 58 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 03:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, 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 Piedecuesta today?
At AQI 58 (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 Piedecuesta been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Piedecuesta's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 34 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 84 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 Piedecuesta lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Piedecuesta has lost about 936 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 4.9% 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 Piedecuesta stayed about the same size, at about 22,600 hectares: new forest grew on about 286 hectares, and about 443 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Piedecuesta?
Piedecuesta has an estimated 164,934 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 52.5% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Piedecuesta need?
Piedecuesta has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Piedecuesta'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 Piedecuesta; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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