Brazil · Pernambuco · 12 cities
Air quality in Pernambuco today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Santa Cruz do Capibaribe has the cleanest air of the 12 cities we track in Pernambuco (AQI 16, Good), and Ipojuca the worst (AQI 71, Moderate). Jaboatão dos Guararapes has the most tree cover, at 51.6% — #19 of 304 cities measured in Brazil.
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 43
Average right now
Good
- cities tracked
- 12
- average tree cover
- 25.6%
- Brazil: 26.0%
- worst air now: Ipojuca
- 71
- cleanest air now: Santa Cruz do Capibaribe
- 16
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Pernambuco · average AQI 43
Air quality today across Pernambuco, city by city
| Recife | 43Good | 12.9% | 42.8K | #263 of 304 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaboatão dos Guararapes | 48Good | 51.6% | — | #19 of 304 |
| Petrolina | 27Good | 7.2% | 59.2K | #296 of 304 |
| Caruaru | 39Good | 6.7% | 73.2K | #298 of 304 |
| Paulista | 43Good | 39.3% | — | #55 of 304 |
| Cabo de Santo Agostinho | 52Moderate | 23.0% | 22.0K | #152 of 304 |
| Camaragibe | 52Moderate | 41.7% | — | #49 of 304 |
| Garanhuns | 23Good | 34.7% | — | #65 of 304 |
| Vitória de Santo Antão | 59Moderate | 13.9% | 50.6K | #252 of 304 |
| Igarassu | 43Good | 43.0% | — | #46 of 304 |
| Ipojuca | 71Moderate | 20.2% | 30.8K | #178 of 304 |
| Santa Cruz do Capibaribe | 16Good | 13.0% | 53.4K | #261 of 304 |
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 Brazil.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Pernambuco lost?
Since 2001, Pernambuco has lost about 206,000 hectares of forest (about 2,100 km²): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (97%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 206,000 haabout 2,100 km²
- Share of its forest
- 13%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 200,000 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 | 12,500 ha | 157 ha | 12,700 ha |
| 2002 | 11,100 ha | 207 ha | 11,300 ha |
| 2003 | 10,300 ha | 192 ha | 10,500 ha |
| 2004 | 6,220 ha | 169 ha | 6,390 ha |
| 2005 | 12,100 ha | 173 ha | 12,300 ha |
| 2006 | 9,740 ha | 90 ha | 9,830 ha |
| 2007 | 11,200 ha | 169 ha | 11,300 ha |
| 2008 | 21,300 ha | 302 ha | 21,700 ha |
| 2009 | 5,090 ha | 64 ha | 5,160 ha |
| 2010 | 17,400 ha | 217 ha | 17,600 ha |
| 2011 | 6,830 ha | 186 ha | 7,010 ha |
| 2012 | 22,200 ha | 227 ha | 22,500 ha |
| 2013 | 5,940 ha | 539 ha | 6,480 ha |
| 2014 | 5,410 ha | 282 ha | 5,690 ha |
| 2015 | 3,050 ha | 71 ha | 3,130 ha |
| 2016 | 4,710 ha | 271 ha | 4,980 ha |
| 2017 | 3,490 ha | 495 ha | 3,980 ha |
| 2018 | 4,740 ha | 409 ha | 5,150 ha |
| 2019 | 2,420 ha | 151 ha | 2,570 ha |
| 2020 | 3,290 ha | 670 ha | 3,960 ha |
| 2021 | 3,900 ha | 205 ha | 4,110 ha |
| 2022 | 4,730 ha | 400 ha | 5,130 ha |
| 2023 | 4,030 ha | 125 ha | 4,160 ha |
| 2024 | 4,100 ha | 327 ha | 4,430 ha |
| 2025 | 3,960 ha | 291 ha | 4,250 ha |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 4,420 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 4,130 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2012, when about 22,500 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Pernambuco?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good94% · 195,000 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back2.1% · 4,290 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good1.9% · 3,850 ha
Also: mining and energy, logging, storms, floods and other natural causes, shifting farming, 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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