City report · São Paulo, Brazil
São Carlos Air quality today
Air quality in São Carlos currently reads AQI 24 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 24
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.2
- tree cover
- 17.1%
- trees in this area
- 53.7K
- more trees needed
- 40.5K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Nucleo Res. Silvio Vilari, São Carlos - SP, Brazil (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Nov 4, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
São Carlos · AQI 24 (Good)
São Carlos's tree count comes to 53,721 trees across 12.57 km², 13 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 40,527 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in São Carlos today: AQI 24, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 02:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 7 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Estimate · model corrected with 7 station cities within 105 km, e.g. Rio Claro and Araras
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.2
PM10
15.1
NO₂
13.2
O₃
30.0
SO₂
2.9
CO
228.0
- 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 São Carlos's daily AQI at 99 on average, from 53 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 223 on Nov 6.
Where São Carlos stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in São Carlos: Critically low
17.1% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
53,721
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
40,527
CO₂ if planted / yr
891.6 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has São Carlos lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of São Carlos has lost about 1,440 hectares of forest (about 2,000 football pitches): 22% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,440 haabout 2,000 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 22%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 812 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2010, when about 465 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 | 25 ha | 95 ha | 120 ha |
| 2002 | 49 ha | 8 ha | 57 ha |
| 2003 | 37 ha | 10 ha | 47 ha |
| 2004 | 114 ha | 9 ha | 123 ha |
| 2005 | 95 ha | 8 ha | 103 ha |
| 2006 | 6 ha | 70 ha | 77 ha |
| 2007 | 5 ha | 4 ha | 9 ha |
| 2008 | 24 ha | 57 ha | 81 ha |
| 2009 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2010 | 310 ha | 155 ha | 465 ha |
| 2011 | 11 ha | 2 ha | 13 ha |
| 2012 | 27 ha | 18 ha | 46 ha |
| 2013 | 14 ha | 16 ha | 29 ha |
| 2014 | 21 ha | 12 ha | 33 ha |
| 2015 | 11 ha | 3 ha | 13 ha |
| 2016 | 13 ha | 17 ha | 30 ha |
| 2017 | 15 ha | 23 ha | 38 ha |
| 2018 | 2 ha | 9 ha | 10 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | 5 ha | 10 ha |
| 2020 | 5 ha | 31 ha | 36 ha |
| 2021 | 13 ha | 33 ha | 46 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | 8 ha | 9 ha |
| 2023 | 2 ha | 13 ha | 15 ha |
| 2024 | 2 ha | 22 ha | 24 ha |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | 6 ha | 6 ha |
What is causing deforestation around São Carlos?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good47% · 683 ha
- Loggingcan grow back39% · 566 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good8% · 115 ha
Also: wildfires, 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
- 7,570 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,290 ha
- Overall change
- −281 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around São Carlos shrank from about 7,570 hectares to 7,290 hectares, a net loss of about 281 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 573 hectares, but 854 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
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Frequently asked
Questions about São Carlos
What is the air quality (AQI) in São Carlos right now?
The latest reading for São Carlos shows an AQI of 24 (Good), observed Nov 11, 02:00 local time via Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 7 ground-station cities within 105 km, US EPA index. The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in São Carlos 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 São Carlos been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put São Carlos's daily AQI at 99 on average, from 53 on Nov 9 to an hourly peak of 223 on Nov 6. On 3 of those days the average was above 100, unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around São Carlos lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of São Carlos has lost about 1,440 hectares of forest (about 2,000 football pitches): 22% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (56%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around São Carlos shrank from about 7,570 hectares to 7,290 hectares, a net loss of about 281 hectares (−3.7%). New forest grew on about 573 hectares, but 854 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in São Carlos?
São Carlos has an estimated 53,721 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 17.1% tree cover, 13 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does São Carlos need?
São Carlos needs roughly 40,527 more trees to close a 13-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 891.6 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are São Carlos'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 Nucleo Res. Silvio Vilari; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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