City report · Bolivia
Santa Cruz de la Sierra Air quality today
Air quality in Santa Cruz de la Sierra currently reads AQI 18 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 18
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 3.5
- tree cover
- 13.6%
- trees in this area
- 42.7K
- more trees needed
- 51.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Distrito 11, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Sep 28, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra · AQI 18 (Good)
Santa Cruz de la Sierra's tree count comes to 42,726 trees across 12.57 km², 16 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 51,522 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Santa Cruz de la Sierra today: AQI 18, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 10, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
3.5
PM10
4.3
NO₂
0.8
O₃
84.0
SO₂
0.6
CO
153.0
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Santa Cruz de la Sierra's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 21 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 7.
Where Santa Cruz de la Sierra stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Santa Cruz de la Sierra: Critically low
13.6% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
42,726
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
51,522
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,133 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Santa Cruz de la Sierra lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Cruz de la Sierra has lost about 1,610 hectares of forest (about 2,200 football pitches): 34% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km west of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,610 haabout 2,200 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 34%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,580 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 26 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 63 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2010, when about 146 hectares of forest were lost.
Santa Cruz de la Sierra's full deforestation reportHectares of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 43 ha | 2 ha | 45 ha |
| 2002 | 29 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2003 | 75 ha | under 1 ha | 76 ha |
| 2004 | 67 ha | 2 ha | 69 ha |
| 2005 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2006 | 59 ha | 5 ha | 64 ha |
| 2007 | 50 ha | 1 ha | 51 ha |
| 2008 | 131 ha | 5 ha | 136 ha |
| 2009 | 52 ha | 2 ha | 54 ha |
| 2010 | 146 ha | under 1 ha | 146 ha |
| 2011 | 106 ha | 1 ha | 107 ha |
| 2012 | 140 ha | under 1 ha | 140 ha |
| 2013 | 57 ha | under 1 ha | 57 ha |
| 2014 | 55 ha | under 1 ha | 56 ha |
| 2015 | 107 ha | 1 ha | 108 ha |
| 2016 | 92 ha | under 1 ha | 92 ha |
| 2017 | 91 ha | under 1 ha | 91 ha |
| 2018 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2019 | 72 ha | under 1 ha | 72 ha |
| 2020 | 39 ha | under 1 ha | 39 ha |
| 2021 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2022 | 16 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2023 | 38 ha | under 1 ha | 38 ha |
| 2024 | 32 ha | under 1 ha | 32 ha |
| 2025 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
- Towns and roadscleared for good55% · 888 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good38% · 616 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good5% · 80 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 3,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 2,810 ha
- Overall change
- −491 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Cruz de la Sierra shrank from about 3,300 hectares to 2,810 hectares, a net loss of about 491 hectares (−15%). New forest grew on about 414 hectares, but 905 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 Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Sacaba305.9 km
Bolivia
- Tree cover
- 9%
- Air quality
- 36
- Quillacollo331.2 km
Bolivia
- Tree cover
- 11%
- Air quality
- 8
- Potosí336.6 km
Bolivia
- Tree cover
- 0%
- Air quality
- 13
- Oruro414.5 km
Bolivia
- Tree cover
- 0%
- Air quality
- 17
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Frequently asked
Questions about Santa Cruz de la Sierra
What is the air quality (AQI) in Santa Cruz de la Sierra right now?
The latest reading for Santa Cruz de la Sierra shows an AQI of 18 (Good), observed Nov 10, 12:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Santa Cruz de la Sierra today?
At AQI 18 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Santa Cruz de la Sierra been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Santa Cruz de la Sierra's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 21 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 90 on Nov 7. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Santa Cruz de la Sierra lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Cruz de la Sierra has lost about 1,610 hectares of forest (about 2,200 football pitches): 34% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (99%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 26 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 63 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Cruz de la Sierra shrank from about 3,300 hectares to 2,810 hectares, a net loss of about 491 hectares (−15%). New forest grew on about 414 hectares, but 905 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Santa Cruz de la Sierra?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra has an estimated 42,726 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 13.6% tree cover, 16 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Santa Cruz de la Sierra need?
Santa Cruz de la Sierra needs roughly 51,522 more trees to close a 16-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,133 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Santa Cruz de la Sierra's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality comes from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where one reports nearby, and otherwise, as here, from the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, which may differ from street-level monitors. 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 Distrito 11; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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