Air quality comparison · Chile, 2569 km apart
Arica vs Puerto Montt Air quality index (AQI) today
Puerto Montt has cleaner air than Arica right now: AQI 29 (Good) against 48 (Good).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Puerto Montt averaged AQI 23 against 49, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Puerto Montt has lost more forest since 2001. Puerto Montt has more tree cover.
Chile
AQI 48
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 9 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 06:00 local
Chile
AQI 29
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 5.8 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 16:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Arica48Puerto Montt29
Head to head
Arica vs Puerto Montt at a glance
Puerto Montt is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Arica on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Arica | Puerto Montt | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 48 | 29 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 9 | 5.8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 49 | 23 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | under 1 ha (better) | 2,040 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.1% | 16.3% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 83.0K | 33.2K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Arica and Puerto Montt right now?
Puerto Montt has cleaner air than Arica right now: AQI 29 (Good) against 48 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
AricaPuerto Montt
Concentrations at the same moment as the index above, for the pollutants both places report. Lower is better. The dark marks on the PM2.5 and PM10 rows show the WHO's 24-hour guidelines (15 and 45 µg/m³).
Arica: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Puerto Montt: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Puerto Montt averaged AQI 23 against 49, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Arica0Puerto Montt7
- Average AQI
- Arica49Puerto Montt23
- Worst day, AQI
- Arica55Puerto Montt30
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Arica | Puerto Montt |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 43 | 30 |
| Nov 5 | 44 | 26 |
| Nov 6 | 49 | 9 |
| Nov 7 | 49 | 30 |
| Nov 8 | 55 | 18 |
| Nov 9 | 53 | 19 |
| Nov 10 | 47 | 27 |
Daily averages from the CAMS atmospheric model for both places, so the week compares like with like. They can differ from today's reading at the top of the page wherever that comes from a ground station.
What it means today
Is it safe to go outside in Arica and Puerto Montt today?
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Both are in the same EPA band today (Good), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
A good day to be active outside.
Windows
Open them to air the house.
Masks
Not needed.
Air purifier
Not needed.
Against everywhere else
How do Arica and Puerto Montt compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Arica's air is cleaner than 63% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Puerto Montt's is cleaner than 80%. Within Chile, that is 50% and 87% of its 31 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Arica
- Beats 63%
- Puerto Montt
- Beats 80%
More tree cover than…
- Arica
- Beats 2%
- Puerto Montt
- Beats 38%
Includes model estimates as well as station readings, so it can differ from our most polluted and cleanest air rankings, which use station readings only.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
Which has lost more forest, Arica or Puerto Montt?
Puerto Montt has lost more: about 2,040 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Arica. 987 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Measured within 10 km of each center, from the yearly satellite maps of forest loss: a wider circle than the one for tree cover, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
No forest lost in any year.
Worst year: 2022, with 215 ha lost.
| Arica | Puerto Montt | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | under 1 ha (better) | 2,040 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 987 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Speeding up |
| Main known cause | Not classified | Towns and roads (43%) |
Satellite timelapses
Watch both change, year by year
A clear satellite photo a year of the land around each city. Press play, turn on the forest cleared since the first year, or drag the before and after.
Arica
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Puerto Montt
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Arica or Puerto Montt?
Puerto Montt has more tree cover: 16.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.1% around Arica, or about 39,533 trees against 3,159.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Arica | Puerto Montt | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 3.2K | 39.5K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 83.0K | 33.2K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 69.5K kg | 870K kg (better) |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 2 km radius around each center, with the tree cover the satellite found marked on it.
Reading these numbers
How this comparison is made
Air quality index
The US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations: ground stations where a place has them nearby, and the CAMS atmospheric model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so it is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place. The guideline marks are from the WHO's 2021 air quality guidelines.
Trees and forest
Tree cover is the share of ground under canopy within 2 km of each center, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It measures that circle, not the whole municipality, which is what makes the two comparable. Forest loss comes from the University of Maryland's Global Forest Change maps.
More on the method on the About Airleaf page.
Frequently asked
Arica vs Puerto Montt: your questions answered
Is Puerto Montt cleaner than Arica?
On air quality, yes, right now: Puerto Montt reads AQI 29 against 48, a gap of 19 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Puerto Montt averaged AQI 23 against 49, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Arica and Puerto Montt today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Arica reads AQI 48 and Puerto Montt reads AQI 29.
Which has lost more forest, Arica or Puerto Montt?
Puerto Montt has lost more: about 2,040 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Arica. 987 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Arica or Puerto Montt?
Puerto Montt has more tree cover: 16.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.1% around Arica, or about 39,533 trees against 3,159. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Arica and Puerto Montt need?
Arica needs about 82,984 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Puerto Montt about 33,227 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Arica and Puerto Montt measured the same way?
The method is the same: the US EPA index for air, and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail over an identical radius for trees. Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Arica vs Puerto Montt comparison update?
The air readings refresh about once an hour, and each reading's local time is shown at the top of the page. Tree cover comes from the latest clear satellite image of each area (Jul 14, 2026 and Mar 10, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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