City report · Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Santa Cruz do Sul Air quality today
Air quality in Santa Cruz do Sul currently reads AQI 24 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 24
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.5
- tree cover
- 43.2%
- trees in this area
- 136K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Centro, Santa Cruz do Sul - RS, Brazil (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Nov 9, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Santa Cruz do Sul · AQI 24 (Good)
Santa Cruz do Sul's tree count comes to 135,717 trees across 12.57 km², already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Santa Cruz do Sul today: AQI 24, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 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
4.5
PM10
5.4
NO₂
1.1
O₃
67.0
SO₂
0.5
CO
108.0
- 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 do Sul's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 29 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 9.
Where Santa Cruz do Sul stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Santa Cruz do Sul: Healthy tree cover
43.2% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
135,717
Target trees
135,717
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Santa Cruz do Sul lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Cruz do Sul has lost about 1,280 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,280 haabout 1,800 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 972 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 64 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 64 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 140 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 | 18 ha | 3 ha | 21 ha |
| 2002 | 23 ha | 2 ha | 25 ha |
| 2003 | 23 ha | 5 ha | 27 ha |
| 2004 | 36 ha | 7 ha | 43 ha |
| 2005 | 30 ha | 13 ha | 44 ha |
| 2006 | 32 ha | 13 ha | 45 ha |
| 2007 | 39 ha | 18 ha | 58 ha |
| 2008 | 22 ha | 11 ha | 32 ha |
| 2009 | 21 ha | 2 ha | 23 ha |
| 2010 | 42 ha | 6 ha | 48 ha |
| 2011 | 18 ha | 2 ha | 20 ha |
| 2012 | 63 ha | 20 ha | 83 ha |
| 2013 | 72 ha | 7 ha | 79 ha |
| 2014 | 44 ha | 10 ha | 54 ha |
| 2015 | 32 ha | 7 ha | 39 ha |
| 2016 | 49 ha | 22 ha | 71 ha |
| 2017 | 102 ha | 38 ha | 140 ha |
| 2018 | 37 ha | 8 ha | 45 ha |
| 2019 | 18 ha | 9 ha | 27 ha |
| 2020 | 29 ha | 10 ha | 39 ha |
| 2021 | 56 ha | 18 ha | 74 ha |
| 2022 | 58 ha | 28 ha | 86 ha |
| 2023 | 42 ha | 24 ha | 66 ha |
| 2024 | 20 ha | 15 ha | 35 ha |
| 2025 | 48 ha | 9 ha | 57 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Santa Cruz do Sul?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good40% · 515 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good36% · 458 ha
- Loggingcan grow back23% · 295 ha
Also: 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
- 12,600 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 11,800 ha
- Overall change
- −812 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Cruz do Sul shrank from about 12,600 hectares to 11,800 hectares, a net loss of about 812 hectares (−6.5%). New forest grew on about 330 hectares, but 1,140 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 do Sul
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Bento Gonçalves106.7 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 12
- Porto Alegre120.5 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 44
- Canoas121.9 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 20%
- Air quality
- 49
- São Leopoldo123.5 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 26
- Novo Hamburgo125.2 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 28
- Santa Maria133.4 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 52
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Frequently asked
Questions about Santa Cruz do Sul
What is the air quality (AQI) in Santa Cruz do Sul right now?
The latest reading for Santa Cruz do Sul shows an AQI of 24 (Good), observed Nov 11, 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 do Sul today?
At AQI 24 (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 do Sul been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Santa Cruz do Sul's daily AQI at 36 on average, from 29 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 61 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Santa Cruz do Sul lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Cruz do Sul has lost about 1,280 hectares of forest (about 1,800 football pitches): 8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (76%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 64 hectares a year in 2021–2025, against 64 hectares a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Cruz do Sul shrank from about 12,600 hectares to 11,800 hectares, a net loss of about 812 hectares (−6.5%). New forest grew on about 330 hectares, but 1,140 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Santa Cruz do Sul?
Santa Cruz do Sul has an estimated 135,717 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 43.2% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Santa Cruz do Sul need?
Santa Cruz do Sul has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Santa Cruz do Sul'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 Centro; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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