City report · Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
São Gonçalo Air quality today
Air quality in São Gonçalo currently reads AQI 23 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 23
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 4.2
- tree cover
- 30.0%
- trees in this area
- 94.2K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 2 km radius around Brasilândia, São Gonçalo - RJ, Brazil (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Oct 24, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
São Gonçalo · AQI 23 (Good)
São Gonçalo's tree count comes to 94,248 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 São Gonçalo today: AQI 23, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 14:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Praça XV, 14.7 km away · median of 8 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
4.2
PM10
18.0
NO₂
—
O₃
32.3
SO₂
—
CO
916.5
Data: OpenAQ · Rio City Hall, Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro · MonitorAr-Rio
- 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 Gonçalo's daily AQI at 70 on average, from 59 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 149 on Nov 6.
Where São Gonçalo stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in São Gonçalo: Healthy tree cover
30.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
94,248
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has São Gonçalo lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of São Gonçalo has lost about 381 hectares of forest (about 530 football pitches): 4.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 381 haabout 530 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 4.8%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 331 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2017, when about 66 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 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2002 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2003 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2004 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2005 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2006 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 2 ha |
| 2007 | 27 ha | 2 ha | 28 ha |
| 2008 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2009 | 11 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2010 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2011 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2012 | 16 ha | 3 ha | 18 ha |
| 2013 | 15 ha | under 1 ha | 16 ha |
| 2014 | 58 ha | 4 ha | 62 ha |
| 2015 | 23 ha | 8 ha | 31 ha |
| 2016 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2017 | 44 ha | 22 ha | 66 ha |
| 2018 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 10 ha |
| 2019 | 5 ha | 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2020 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 6 ha |
| 2021 | 7 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2022 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2023 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2024 | 16 ha | 4 ha | 19 ha |
| 2025 | 22 ha | 3 ha | 25 ha |
What is causing deforestation around São Gonçalo?
- Towns and roadscleared for good64% · 242 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good14% · 55 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good9.1% · 35 ha
Also: wildfires, 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
- 7,120 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 7,050 ha
- Overall change
- −73 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around São Gonçalo stayed about the same size, at about 7,050 hectares: new forest grew on about 126 hectares, and about 198 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 São Gonçalo
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Rio de Janeiro15.8 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 21%
- Air quality
- 31
- Magé19.4 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 62%
- Air quality
- 25
- Itaboraí21.9 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 45%
- Air quality
- 12
- Maricá26.2 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 48%
- Air quality
- 14
- Duque de Caxias26.8 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 17%
- Air quality
- 126
- Barra da Tijuca37.2 km
Brazil
- Tree cover
- 41%
- Air quality
- 14
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Frequently asked
Questions about São Gonçalo
What is the air quality (AQI) in São Gonçalo right now?
The latest reading for São Gonçalo shows an AQI of 23 (Good), measured Nov 11, 14:00 local time by 8 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Praça XV, 14.7 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in São Gonçalo today?
At AQI 23 (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 Gonçalo been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put São Gonçalo's daily AQI at 70 on average, from 59 on Nov 7 to an hourly peak of 149 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 São Gonçalo lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of São Gonçalo has lost about 381 hectares of forest (about 530 football pitches): 4.8% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (87%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around São Gonçalo stayed about the same size, at about 7,050 hectares: new forest grew on about 126 hectares, and about 198 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in São Gonçalo?
São Gonçalo has an estimated 94,248 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 30.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does São Gonçalo need?
São Gonçalo has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are São Gonçalo's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Brasilândia, 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 Brasilândia; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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