Air quality comparison · Chile, 1623 km apart
Arica vs Viña del Mar Air quality index (AQI) today
Arica has cleaner air than Viña del Mar right now: AQI 48 (Good) against 55 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Viña del Mar averaged AQI 36 against 49, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Viña del Mar has lost more forest since 2001. Viña del Mar 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 55
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 11.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 21:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Arica48Viña del Mar55
Head to head
Arica vs Viña del Mar at a glance
Arica and Viña del Mar are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Arica | Viña del Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 48 (better) | 55 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 9 (better) | 11.7 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 49 | 36 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | under 1 ha (better) | 3,530 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 1.1% | 16.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 83.0K | 37.1K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Arica and Viña del Mar right now?
Arica has cleaner air than Viña del Mar right now: AQI 48 (Good) against 55 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
AricaViña del Mar
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.
Viña del Mar: 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?
But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Viña del Mar averaged AQI 36 against 49, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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
- Arica1Viña del Mar6
- Average AQI
- Arica49Viña del Mar36
- Worst day, AQI
- Arica55Viña del Mar50
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Arica | Viña del Mar |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 43 | 25 |
| Nov 5 | 44 | 38 |
| Nov 6 | 49 | 21 |
| Nov 7 | 49 | 28 |
| Nov 8 | 55 | 43 |
| Nov 9 | 53 | 50 |
| Nov 10 | 47 | 49 |
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 Viña del Mar today?
Arica (AQI 48, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Viña del Mar (AQI 55, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Arica
- A good day to be active outside.
- Viña del Mar
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Arica
- Open them to air the house.
- Viña del Mar
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Arica
- Not needed.
- Viña del Mar
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Arica
- Not needed.
- Viña del Mar
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Arica and Viña del Mar compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Arica's air is cleaner than 64% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Viña del Mar's is cleaner than 54%. Within Chile, that is 50% and 37% of its 31 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Arica
- Beats 64%
- Viña del Mar
- Beats 54%
More tree cover than…
- Arica
- Beats 2%
- Viña del Mar
- Beats 37%
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 Viña del Mar?
Viña del Mar has lost more: about 3,530 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Arica. 522 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: 2024, with 782 ha lost.
| Arica | Viña del Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | under 1 ha (better) | 3,530 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 522 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Not classified | Wildfires (83%) |
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.
Viña del Mar
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Arica or Viña del Mar?
Viña del Mar has more tree cover: 16.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.1% around Arica, or about 43,565 trees against 3,159.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Arica | Viña del Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 3.2K | 43.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 83.0K | 37.1K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 69.5K kg | 958K 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 Viña del Mar: your questions answered
Is Arica cleaner than Viña del Mar?
On air quality, yes, right now: Arica reads AQI 48 against 55, a gap of 7 points on the US EPA index. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Viña del Mar averaged AQI 36 against 49, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Arica and Viña del Mar today?
In Arica, at AQI 48: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Viña del Mar, at AQI 55: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Arica or Viña del Mar?
Viña del Mar has lost more: about 3,530 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Arica. 522 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Arica or Viña del Mar?
Viña del Mar has more tree cover: 16.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 1.1% around Arica, or about 43,565 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 Viña del Mar need?
Arica needs about 82,984 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Viña del Mar about 37,111 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Arica and Viña del Mar 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 Viña del Mar 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 13, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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