Colombia · Atlántico · 3 cities
Air quality in Atlántico today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Malambo has the cleanest air of the 3 cities we track in Atlántico (AQI 51, Moderate), and Sabanalarga the worst (AQI 55, Moderate). Sabanalarga has the most tree cover, at 48.2% — #4 of 48 cities measured in Colombia.
Every city is measured the same way, over the same 2 km around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
AQI 53
Average right now
Moderate
- cities tracked
- 3
- average tree cover
- 33.6%
- Colombia: 24.8%
- worst air now: Sabanalarga
- 55
- cleanest air now: Malambo
- 51
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Atlántico · average AQI 53
Air quality today across Atlántico, city by city
| Barranquilla | 53Moderate | 10.7% | 60.1K | #42 of 48 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malambo | 51Moderate | 42.0% | — | #7 of 48 |
| Sabanalarga | 55Moderate | 48.2% | — | #4 of 48 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 2 km of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery; the rank compares every city measured in Colombia.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Atlántico lost?
Since 2001, Atlántico has lost about 11,300 hectares of forest (about 16,000 football pitches): 17% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 11,300 haabout 16,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 17%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 11,000 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Hectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1,140 ha | 21 ha | 1,170 ha |
| 2002 | 272 ha | 5 ha | 277 ha |
| 2003 | 131 ha | 1 ha | 132 ha |
| 2004 | 963 ha | 10 ha | 973 ha |
| 2005 | 367 ha | 8 ha | 375 ha |
| 2006 | 326 ha | 11 ha | 337 ha |
| 2007 | 246 ha | 1 ha | 247 ha |
| 2008 | 1,880 ha | 11 ha | 1,890 ha |
| 2009 | 926 ha | 22 ha | 948 ha |
| 2010 | 110 ha | 2 ha | 112 ha |
| 2011 | 422 ha | 5 ha | 427 ha |
| 2012 | 450 ha | 12 ha | 462 ha |
| 2013 | 197 ha | 6 ha | 203 ha |
| 2014 | 376 ha | 18 ha | 394 ha |
| 2015 | 183 ha | 5 ha | 188 ha |
| 2016 | 248 ha | 36 ha | 284 ha |
| 2017 | 392 ha | 15 ha | 407 ha |
| 2018 | 437 ha | 12 ha | 449 ha |
| 2019 | 420 ha | 10 ha | 430 ha |
| 2020 | 212 ha | 13 ha | 225 ha |
| 2021 | 283 ha | 10 ha | 293 ha |
| 2022 | 273 ha | 5 ha | 278 ha |
| 2023 | 289 ha | 4 ha | 293 ha |
| 2024 | 224 ha | 7 ha | 231 ha |
| 2025 | 261 ha | 22 ha | 283 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 276 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 359 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2008, when about 1,890 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Atlántico?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good92% · 10,400 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good3.3% · 373 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good2.4% · 269 ha
Also: shifting farming, storms, floods and other natural causes, wildfires, logging, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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