City report · Maranhão, Brazil
São Luís Air quality today
Air quality in São Luís currently reads AQI 45 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
AQI 45
Air quality right now
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 9.2
- tree cover
- 19.0%
- trees in this area
- 36.0K
- more trees needed
- 20.8K
Measured across a 2 km radius around Centro, São Luís - MA, Brazil (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 18, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
São Luís · AQI 45 (Good)
São Luís's tree count comes to 35,993 trees across 7.58 km² of land, 11 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 20,838 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in São Luís today: AQI 45, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 07:00 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
9.2
PM10
16.8
NO₂
1.9
O₃
42.0
SO₂
0.9
CO
148.0
- 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 Luís's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 33 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 59 on Nov 6.
Where São Luís stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in São Luís: Below target
19.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 7.58 km² of land.
Trees in this area
35,993
Target trees
56,831
More trees needed
20,838
CO₂ if planted / yr
458.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has São Luís lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of São Luís has lost about 817 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 817 haabout 1,100 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 15%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 802 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2011, when about 98 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 | 14 ha | 1 ha | 15 ha |
| 2002 | 28 ha | under 1 ha | 29 ha |
| 2003 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2004 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2005 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2006 | 26 ha | under 1 ha | 26 ha |
| 2007 | 49 ha | under 1 ha | 50 ha |
| 2008 | 35 ha | under 1 ha | 36 ha |
| 2009 | 46 ha | under 1 ha | 46 ha |
| 2010 | 59 ha | under 1 ha | 60 ha |
| 2011 | 98 ha | under 1 ha | 98 ha |
| 2012 | 49 ha | 2 ha | 50 ha |
| 2013 | 21 ha | under 1 ha | 21 ha |
| 2014 | 23 ha | under 1 ha | 23 ha |
| 2015 | 18 ha | under 1 ha | 18 ha |
| 2016 | 30 ha | under 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2017 | 51 ha | 1 ha | 52 ha |
| 2018 | 25 ha | under 1 ha | 25 ha |
| 2019 | 28 ha | 1 ha | 30 ha |
| 2020 | 17 ha | under 1 ha | 17 ha |
| 2021 | 12 ha | under 1 ha | 13 ha |
| 2022 | 8 ha | under 1 ha | 8 ha |
| 2023 | 10 ha | under 1 ha | 11 ha |
| 2024 | 37 ha | 3 ha | 40 ha |
| 2025 | 50 ha | under 1 ha | 50 ha |
What is causing deforestation around São Luís?
- Towns and roadscleared for good64% · 519 ha
- Mining and energycleared for good18% · 145 ha
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good17% · 139 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
- 3,370 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 3,120 ha
- Overall change
- −249 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around São Luís shrank from about 3,370 hectares to 3,120 hectares, a net loss of about 249 hectares (−7.4%). New forest grew on about 96 hectares, but 345 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 Luís
What is the air quality (AQI) in São Luís right now?
The latest reading for São Luís shows an AQI of 45 (Good), observed Nov 11, 07:00 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 São Luís today?
At AQI 45 (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 Luís been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put São Luís's daily AQI at 41 on average, from 33 on Nov 8 to an hourly peak of 59 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 Luís lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of São Luís has lost about 817 hectares of forest (about 1,100 football pitches): 15% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around São Luís shrank from about 3,370 hectares to 3,120 hectares, a net loss of about 249 hectares (−7.4%). New forest grew on about 96 hectares, but 345 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in São Luís?
São Luís has an estimated 35,993 trees across the 7.58 km² of land measured — 19.0% tree cover, 11 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does São Luís need?
São Luís needs roughly 20,838 more trees to close a 11-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 458.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are São Luís'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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