Brazil · Rio de Janeiro · 26 cities
Air quality in Rio de Janeiro today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Resende has the cleanest air of the 26 cities we track in Rio de Janeiro (AQI 6, Good), and Duque de Caxias the worst (AQI 126, Unhealthy for sensitive groups). Petrópolis has the most tree cover, at 73.8% — #1 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.
Average right now
AQI 24
Good
- cities tracked
- 26
- average tree cover
- 38.2%
- Brazil: 25.9%
- worst air now: Duque de Caxias
- 126
- cleanest air now: Resende
- 6
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Rio de Janeiro · average AQI 24
Air quality today across Rio de Janeiro, city by city
| Rio de Janeiro | 21Good | 21.4% | 21.9K | #169 of 304 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duque de Caxias | 126Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 17.1% | 56.1K | #204 of 304 |
| Nova Iguaçu | 77Moderate | 32.6% | — | #73 of 304 |
| Niterói | 21Good | 33.0% | — | #72 of 304 |
| Campos dos Goytacazes | 40Good | 16.5% | 38.3K | #211 of 304 |
| Barra da Tijuca | 13Good | 40.7% | — | #51 of 304 |
| Petrópolis | 14Good | 73.8% | — | #1 of 304 |
| São Gonçalo | 21Good | 30.0% | — | #95 of 304 |
| Volta Redonda | 9Good | 39.2% | — | #56 of 304 |
| Macaé | 16Good | 21.4% | 20.8K | #168 of 304 |
| Magé | 25Good | 62.4% | — | #7 of 304 |
| Itaboraí | 12Good | 44.6% | — | #41 of 304 |
| Cabo Frio | 14Good | 13.7% | 34.8K | #254 of 304 |
| Maricá | 14Good | 47.7% | — | #31 of 304 |
| Nova Friburgo | 9Good | 62.5% | — | #6 of 304 |
| Angra dos Reis | 16Good | 63.2% | — | #5 of 304 |
| Teresópolis | 7Good | 59.2% | — | #11 of 304 |
| Rio das Ostras | 20Good | 28.0% | 4.2K | #106 of 304 |
| Queimados | 45Good | 35.8% | — | #59 of 304 |
| Araruama | 17Good | 30.8% | — | #90 of 304 |
| Resende | 6Good | 36.8% | — | #57 of 304 |
| Itaguaí | 14Good | 33.9% | — | #66 of 304 |
| São Pedro da Aldeia | 14Good | 28.4% | 2.8K | #102 of 304 |
| Itaperuna | 19Good | 26.4% | 11.1K | #120 of 304 |
| Japeri | 25Good | 54.8% | — | #17 of 304 |
| Barra do Piraí | 14Good | 40.5% | — | #52 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 Rio de Janeiro lost?
Since 2001, Rio de Janeiro has lost about 91,800 hectares of forest (about 130,000 football pitches): 5% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (72%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 91,800 haabout 130,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 5%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 66,100 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 | 3,400 ha | 815 ha | 4,210 ha |
| 2002 | 2,670 ha | 634 ha | 3,300 ha |
| 2003 | 2,410 ha | 613 ha | 3,020 ha |
| 2004 | 1,750 ha | 431 ha | 2,180 ha |
| 2005 | 1,940 ha | 541 ha | 2,480 ha |
| 2006 | 2,030 ha | 594 ha | 2,620 ha |
| 2007 | 4,730 ha | 935 ha | 5,670 ha |
| 2008 | 1,560 ha | 572 ha | 2,130 ha |
| 2009 | 1,490 ha | 514 ha | 2,000 ha |
| 2010 | 1,980 ha | 674 ha | 2,650 ha |
| 2011 | 3,280 ha | 1,010 ha | 4,290 ha |
| 2012 | 1,860 ha | 691 ha | 2,550 ha |
| 2013 | 1,670 ha | 559 ha | 2,230 ha |
| 2014 | 5,430 ha | 2,170 ha | 7,600 ha |
| 2015 | 2,650 ha | 1,080 ha | 3,730 ha |
| 2016 | 2,270 ha | 843 ha | 3,120 ha |
| 2017 | 8,320 ha | 6,100 ha | 14,400 ha |
| 2018 | 2,320 ha | 917 ha | 3,240 ha |
| 2019 | 1,680 ha | 806 ha | 2,480 ha |
| 2020 | 2,030 ha | 777 ha | 2,810 ha |
| 2021 | 1,510 ha | 522 ha | 2,030 ha |
| 2022 | 2,010 ha | 591 ha | 2,600 ha |
| 2023 | 1,720 ha | 589 ha | 2,310 ha |
| 2024 | 2,550 ha | 1,620 ha | 4,170 ha |
| 2025 | 2,800 ha | 1,120 ha | 3,920 ha |
Forest loss is slowing down: about 3,010 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 5,210 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 14,400 hectares of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Rio de Janeiro?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good63% · 57,400 ha
- Loggingcan grow back13% · 12,000 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back10% · 9,230 ha
Also: towns and roads, storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, 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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