Argentina · Buenos Aires · 12 cities
Air quality in Buenos Aires today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, San Nicolás de los Arroyos has the cleanest air of the 12 cities we track in Buenos Aires (AQI 7, Good), and La Plata the worst (AQI 48, Good). San Nicolás de los Arroyos has the most tree cover, at 36.1% — #3 of 37 cities measured in Argentina.
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 14
Average right now
Good
- cities tracked
- 12
- average tree cover
- 20.1%
- Argentina: 18.2%
- worst air now: La Plata
- 48
- cleanest air now: San Nicolás de los Arroyos
- 7
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Buenos Aires · average AQI 14
Air quality today across Buenos Aires, city by city
| Mar del Plata | 17Good | 11.5% | 52.1K | #25 of 37 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahía Blanca | 13Good | 9.0% | 66.0K | #33 of 37 |
| Merlo | 10Good | 25.3% | 14.8K | #7 of 37 |
| Quilmes | 11Good | 21.3% | 26.9K | #11 of 37 |
| Laferrere | 11Good | 16.4% | 42.7K | #19 of 37 |
| José C. Paz | 8Good | 20.7% | 29.2K | #12 of 37 |
| Lanús | 11Good | 10.3% | 61.9K | #28 of 37 |
| La Plata | 48Good | 23.5% | 20.4K | #8 of 37 |
| San Nicolás de los Arroyos | 7Good | 36.1% | — | #3 of 37 |
| Tandil | 14Good | 19.9% | 31.6K | #15 of 37 |
| Ezeiza | 10Good | 26.3% | 11.6K | #6 of 37 |
| Castelar | 11Good | 20.6% | 29.5K | #13 of 37 |
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 Argentina.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Buenos Aires lost?
Since 2001, Buenos Aires has lost about 44,800 hectares of forest (about 63,000 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (52%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 44,800 haabout 63,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 23,200 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 | 3,120 ha | 793 ha | 3,920 ha |
| 2002 | 725 ha | 531 ha | 1,260 ha |
| 2003 | 1,120 ha | 618 ha | 1,740 ha |
| 2004 | 1,170 ha | 1,370 ha | 2,540 ha |
| 2005 | 1,430 ha | 684 ha | 2,110 ha |
| 2006 | 1,580 ha | 1,150 ha | 2,720 ha |
| 2007 | 1,160 ha | 761 ha | 1,920 ha |
| 2008 | 1,040 ha | 982 ha | 2,020 ha |
| 2009 | 1,330 ha | 1,460 ha | 2,790 ha |
| 2010 | 823 ha | 652 ha | 1,480 ha |
| 2011 | 1,350 ha | 1,450 ha | 2,800 ha |
| 2012 | 1,320 ha | 1,940 ha | 3,260 ha |
| 2013 | 486 ha | 745 ha | 1,230 ha |
| 2014 | 879 ha | 1,040 ha | 1,920 ha |
| 2015 | 223 ha | 277 ha | 500 ha |
| 2016 | 319 ha | 783 ha | 1,100 ha |
| 2017 | 705 ha | 1,110 ha | 1,820 ha |
| 2018 | 437 ha | 552 ha | 989 ha |
| 2019 | 289 ha | 347 ha | 636 ha |
| 2020 | 347 ha | 295 ha | 642 ha |
| 2021 | 616 ha | 397 ha | 1,010 ha |
| 2022 | 543 ha | 542 ha | 1,090 ha |
| 2023 | 839 ha | 605 ha | 1,440 ha |
| 2024 | 701 ha | 1,120 ha | 1,820 ha |
| 2025 | 608 ha | 1,440 ha | 2,040 ha |
Forest loss is speeding up: about 1,480 hectares a year in 2021–2025, up from 1,040 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2001, when about 3,920 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Buenos Aires?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good49% · 21,800 ha
- Loggingcan grow back25% · 11,300 ha
- Storms, floods and other natural causescan grow back6.1% · 2,730 ha
Also: wildfires, towns and roads, mining and energy, 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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