City report · Argentina
Salta Air quality today
Air quality in Salta currently reads AQI 60 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
AQI 60
Air quality right now
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 13.7
- tree cover
- 7.2%
- trees in this area
- 22.6K
- more trees needed
- 71.6K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Salta, Salta Province, Argentina (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 28, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Salta · AQI 60 (Moderate)
Salta's tree count comes to 22,619 trees across 12.57 km², 23 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 71,628 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Salta today: AQI 60, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 12, 14:10 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · NW_35, 7.9 km away
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
13.7
PM10
14.1
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · Breathe2Change, Breathe2Change - LEA (INQUINOA-CONICET-UNT)
- 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 Salta's daily AQI at 25 on average, from 13 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 6.
Where Salta stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Salta: Critically low
7.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
22,619
Target trees
94,247
More trees needed
71,628
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,576 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Salta lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Salta has lost about 379 hectares of forest (about 530 football pitches): 4.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (93%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 379 haabout 530 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.9%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 353 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2004, when about 52 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 | 24 ha | 1 ha | 25 ha |
| 2002 | 34 ha | under 1 ha | 34 ha |
| 2003 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2004 | 49 ha | 3 ha | 52 ha |
| 2005 | 39 ha | under 1 ha | 39 ha |
| 2006 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2007 | 14 ha | under 1 ha | 14 ha |
| 2008 | 39 ha | 2 ha | 41 ha |
| 2009 | 6 ha | 5 ha | 12 ha |
| 2010 | 23 ha | 6 ha | 29 ha |
| 2011 | 9 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2012 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2013 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 9 ha |
| 2014 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2015 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2016 | 22 ha | under 1 ha | 22 ha |
| 2017 | 6 ha | 2 ha | 8 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | 4 ha | 6 ha |
| 2019 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2020 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2024 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2025 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Salta?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good68% · 256 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good25% · 96 ha
- Wildfirescan grow back3% · 11 ha
Also: logging, mining and energy, 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
- 8,000 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,900 ha
- Overall change
- −103 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Salta stayed about the same size, at about 7,900 hectares: new forest grew on about 271 hectares, and about 374 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 Salta
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- San Miguel de Tucumán224.4 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 71
- Santiago del Estero352.3 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 10%
- Air quality
- 82
- Tarija370.5 km
Bolivia
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 17
- Catamarca408.9 km
Argentina
- Tree cover
- 12%
- Air quality
- 26
- Calama442.3 km
Chile
- Tree cover
- 3%
- Air quality
- 58
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Frequently asked
Questions about Salta
What is the air quality (AQI) in Salta right now?
The latest reading for Salta shows an AQI of 60 (Moderate), measured Nov 12, 14:10 local time by the NW_35 ground monitoring station, 7.9 km away, via OpenAQ. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Salta today?
At AQI 60 (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 Salta been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Salta's daily AQI at 25 on average, from 13 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 6. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Salta lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Salta has lost about 379 hectares of forest (about 530 football pitches): 4.9% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (93%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Salta stayed about the same size, at about 7,900 hectares: new forest grew on about 271 hectares, and about 374 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Salta?
Salta has an estimated 22,619 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 7.2% tree cover, 23 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Salta need?
Salta needs roughly 71,628 more trees to close a 23-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,576 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Salta's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Salta, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. 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 Salta; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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