City report · Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Santa Maria Air quality today
Air quality in Santa Maria currently reads AQI 52 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 52
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.0
- tree cover
- 32.0%
- trees in this area
- 101K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Centro, Santa Maria - 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 Maria · AQI 52 (Moderate)
Santa Maria's tree count comes to 100,531 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 Maria today: AQI 52, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 02:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Model estimate · no ground station nearby
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.0
PM10
11.1
NO₂
7.9
O₃
40.0
SO₂
1.6
CO
175.0
- 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 Santa Maria's daily AQI at 34 on average, from 25 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 52 on Nov 11.
Where Santa Maria stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Santa Maria: Healthy tree cover
32.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
100,531
Target trees
100,531
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Santa Maria lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Maria has lost about 924 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 6.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (57%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 924 haabout 1,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 6.4%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 526 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2017, when about 63 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 | 12 ha | 27 ha | 38 ha |
| 2002 | 11 ha | 25 ha | 36 ha |
| 2003 | 8 ha | 27 ha | 34 ha |
| 2004 | 20 ha | 15 ha | 36 ha |
| 2005 | 24 ha | 7 ha | 31 ha |
| 2006 | 16 ha | 7 ha | 23 ha |
| 2007 | 8 ha | 5 ha | 13 ha |
| 2008 | 32 ha | 2 ha | 34 ha |
| 2009 | 28 ha | 17 ha | 45 ha |
| 2010 | 21 ha | 8 ha | 29 ha |
| 2011 | 39 ha | 14 ha | 53 ha |
| 2012 | 18 ha | 11 ha | 29 ha |
| 2013 | 45 ha | 9 ha | 54 ha |
| 2014 | 42 ha | 12 ha | 54 ha |
| 2015 | 11 ha | 12 ha | 23 ha |
| 2016 | 19 ha | 24 ha | 42 ha |
| 2017 | 22 ha | 41 ha | 63 ha |
| 2018 | 18 ha | 34 ha | 52 ha |
| 2019 | 4 ha | 18 ha | 22 ha |
| 2020 | 13 ha | 16 ha | 29 ha |
| 2021 | 40 ha | 19 ha | 59 ha |
| 2022 | 21 ha | 20 ha | 41 ha |
| 2023 | 25 ha | 18 ha | 43 ha |
| 2024 | 20 ha | 7 ha | 27 ha |
| 2025 | 8 ha | 7 ha | 15 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Santa Maria?
- Loggingcan grow back41% · 379 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good39% · 356 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good18% · 170 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
- 10,300 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 10,100 ha
- Overall change
- −162 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Maria stayed about the same size, at about 10,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 287 hectares, and about 449 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 Maria
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Santa Cruz do Sul133.4 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 43%
- Air quality
- 24
- Bagé185.4 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 35%
- Air quality
- 29
- Passo Fundo208.6 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 26%
- Air quality
- 31
- Rivera215.6 km
Uruguay
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 51
- Bento Gonçalves228.8 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 12
- Porto Alegre251.5 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 22%
- Air quality
- 44
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Frequently asked
Questions about Santa Maria
What is the air quality (AQI) in Santa Maria right now?
The latest reading for Santa Maria shows an AQI of 52 (Moderate), observed Nov 11, 02:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Santa Maria today?
At AQI 52 (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 Santa Maria been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Santa Maria's daily AQI at 34 on average, from 25 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 52 on Nov 11. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Santa Maria lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Santa Maria has lost about 924 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 6.4% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (57%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Santa Maria stayed about the same size, at about 10,100 hectares: new forest grew on about 287 hectares, and about 449 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Santa Maria?
Santa Maria has an estimated 100,531 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 32.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Santa Maria need?
Santa Maria has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Santa Maria'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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