City report · Cundinamarca, Colombia
Soacha Air quality today
Air quality in Soacha currently reads AQI 53 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Air quality right now
AQI 53
Moderate
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 10.3
- tree cover
- 3.3%
- trees in this area
- 10.4K
- more trees needed
- 83.9K
Measured across a 2 km radius around El Sol, Soacha, Cundinamarca, Colombia (12.57 km²), from a satellite image of Aug 10, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Soacha · AQI 53 (Moderate)
Soacha's tree count comes to 10,367 trees across 12.57 km², 27 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 83,881 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Soacha today: AQI 53, Moderate
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 09:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Carvajal - Sevillana, Bogota, Colombia, 7.8 km away · median of 3 stations
Health signal
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
PM2.5
10.3
PM10
27.0
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: World Air Quality Index Project, OAB - El Observatorio Ambiental de Bogotá
- 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 Soacha's daily AQI at 49 on average, from 34 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 83 on Nov 4.
Where Soacha stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Soacha: Critically low
3.3% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 12.57 km².
Trees in this area
10,367
Target trees
94,248
More trees needed
83,881
CO₂ if planted / yr
1,845 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Soacha lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Soacha has lost about 900 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (71%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 900 haabout 1,300 football pitches
- Share of its forest
- 11%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 638 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2007, when about 184 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 | 95 ha | 41 ha | 136 ha |
| 2002 | 24 ha | 29 ha | 53 ha |
| 2003 | 11 ha | 10 ha | 21 ha |
| 2004 | 18 ha | 5 ha | 23 ha |
| 2005 | 25 ha | 4 ha | 29 ha |
| 2006 | 30 ha | 7 ha | 37 ha |
| 2007 | 110 ha | 74 ha | 184 ha |
| 2008 | 28 ha | 10 ha | 38 ha |
| 2009 | 81 ha | 25 ha | 106 ha |
| 2010 | 48 ha | 5 ha | 53 ha |
| 2011 | 51 ha | 2 ha | 53 ha |
| 2012 | 63 ha | 13 ha | 77 ha |
| 2013 | 8 ha | 6 ha | 13 ha |
| 2014 | 15 ha | 23 ha | 38 ha |
| 2015 | 2 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2016 | 2 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2017 | 6 ha | under 1 ha | 7 ha |
| 2018 | 4 ha | under 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2019 | under 1 ha | 2 ha | 3 ha |
| 2020 | 3 ha | 2 ha | 4 ha |
| 2021 | 3 ha | under 1 ha | 3 ha |
| 2022 | 1 ha | under 1 ha | 1 ha |
| 2023 | 5 ha | under 1 ha | 5 ha |
| 2024 | 3 ha | 1 ha | 4 ha |
| 2025 | 1 ha | 1 ha | 3 ha |
What is causing deforestation around Soacha?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good50% · 450 ha
- Towns and roadscleared for good18% · 164 ha
- Loggingcan grow back17% · 157 ha
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, 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
- 6,460 ha
- Forest in 2020
- 5,770 ha
- Overall change
- −692 haless forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Soacha shrank from about 6,460 hectares to 5,770 hectares, a net loss of about 692 hectares (−11%). New forest grew on about 116 hectares, but 809 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 Soacha
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Bogotá15.3 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 4%
- Air quality
- 46
- Madrid17.8 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 52
- Facatativá30.2 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 15%
- Air quality
- 69
- Chía35.7 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 13%
- Air quality
- 33
- Zipaquirá54.5 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 30%
- Air quality
- 64
- Girardot City72.4 km
Colombia
- Tree cover
- 34%
- Air quality
- 36
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Frequently asked
Questions about Soacha
What is the air quality (AQI) in Soacha right now?
The latest reading for Soacha shows an AQI of 53 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 09:00 local time by 3 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Carvajal - Sevillana, Bogota, Colombia, 7.8 km away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Soacha today?
At AQI 53 (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 Soacha been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Soacha's daily AQI at 49 on average, from 34 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 83 on Nov 4. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Soacha lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Soacha has lost about 900 hectares of forest (about 1,300 football pitches): 11% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (71%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Soacha shrank from about 6,460 hectares to 5,770 hectares, a net loss of about 692 hectares (−11%). New forest grew on about 116 hectares, but 809 hectares were lost.
What is the tree count in Soacha?
Soacha has an estimated 10,367 trees across the 12.57 km² measured — 3.3% tree cover, 27 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Soacha need?
Soacha needs roughly 83,881 more trees to close a 27-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 1,845 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Soacha's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near El Sol, 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 El Sol; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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