Air quality comparison · Puerto Rico, 41.0 mi (66 km) apart
Caguas vs Ponce Air quality index (AQI) today
Caguas has cleaner air than Ponce right now: AQI 56 (Moderate) against 57 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Ponce averaged AQI 27 against 32, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Caguas has lost more forest since 2001. Caguas has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Caguas56Ponce57
Head to head
Caguas vs Ponce at a glance
Caguas is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Ponce on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Caguas | Ponce | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 56 (better) | 57 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 12 (better) | 14 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 32 | 27 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 4,010 acres (1,620 ha) | 2,420 acres (978 ha) (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 1.2 mi (2 km) of the center. | 29.0% (better) | 26.5% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 3.1K (better) | 11.0K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Caguas and Ponce right now?
Caguas has cleaner air than Ponce right now: AQI 56 (Moderate) against 57 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Caguas is read from a nearby ground station and Ponce is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
CaguasPonce
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).
Caguas: Ground station · Cataño 40, 14.7 mi (23.7 km) away. Data: OpenAQ · AirNow.
Ponce: Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 52.8 mi (85 km), e.g. Bayamón and Caguas. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 85 km, 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, Ponce averaged AQI 27 against 32, 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
- Caguas0Ponce6
- Average AQI
- Caguas32Ponce27
- Worst day, AQI
- Caguas55Ponce54
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Caguas | Ponce |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 55 | 52 |
| Nov 5 | 54 | 54 |
| Nov 6 | 40 | 27 |
| Nov 7 | 12 | 10 |
| Nov 8 | 22 | 14 |
| Nov 9 | 18 | 17 |
| Nov 10 | 21 | 18 |
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 Caguas and Ponce today?
Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Both are in the same EPA band today (Moderate), so the advice is the same.
Exercise outdoors
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.
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Caguas and Ponce compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Caguas's air is cleaner than 51% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Ponce's is cleaner than 50%. Within Puerto Rico, that is 33% and 17% of its 7 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Caguas
- Beats 51%
- Ponce
- Beats 50%
More tree cover than…
- Caguas
- Beats 67%
- Ponce
- Beats 61%
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, Caguas or Ponce?
Caguas has lost more: about 4,010 acres (1,620 ha) of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,420 acres (978 ha) around Ponce. 3,780 acres (1,530 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.
Worst year: 2017, with 1,830 acres (739 ha) lost.
Worst year: 2017, with 472 acres (191 ha) lost.
| Caguas | Ponce | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 4,010 acres (1,620 ha) | 2,420 acres (978 ha) (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 9% | 8.3% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 3,780 acres (1,530 ha) | 1,810 acres (733 ha) (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Slowing down | Slowing down |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (82%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (31%) |
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.
Caguas
2020: satellite photo from February 2020 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km northwest of the city center.
Ponce
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Caguas or Ponce?
Caguas has more tree cover: 29.0% of the land within 1.2 mi (2 km) of its center against 26.5% around Ponce, or about 91,106 trees against 83,252.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Caguas | Ponce | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 91.1K (better) | 83.3K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 3.1K (better) | 11.0K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 2.0M kg (better) | 1.8M kg |
Tree cover on the satellite image
The same 1.2 mi (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 1.2 mi (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
Caguas vs Ponce: your questions answered
Is Caguas cleaner than Ponce?
On air quality, yes, right now: Caguas reads AQI 56 against 57, a gap of 1 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, Ponce averaged AQI 27 against 32, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Caguas and Ponce today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Caguas reads AQI 56 and Ponce reads AQI 57.
Which has lost more forest, Caguas or Ponce?
Caguas has lost more: about 4,010 acres (1,620 ha) of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 2,420 acres (978 ha) around Ponce. 3,780 acres (1,530 ha) of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Caguas or Ponce?
Caguas has more tree cover: 29.0% of the land within 1.2 mi (2 km) of its center against 26.5% around Ponce, or about 91,106 trees against 83,252. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Caguas and Ponce need?
Caguas needs about 3,142 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Ponce about 10,996 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Caguas and Ponce 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. Caguas is read from a nearby ground station and Ponce is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Caguas vs Ponce 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 (Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 8, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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