Air quality comparison · Colombia, 783 km apart
Cali vs Cartagena Air quality index (AQI) today
Cartagena has cleaner air than Cali right now: AQI 52 (Moderate) against 81 (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, Cali averaged AQI 23 against 37, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days. Cartagena has lost more forest since 2001. Cartagena has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Cali81Cartagena52
Head to head
Cali vs Cartagena at a glance
Cartagena is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Cali on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Cali | Cartagena | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 81 | 52 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 25.4 | 9.3 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 23 (better) | 37 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 220 ha (better) | 785 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 6.5% | 15.7% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 73.8K | 44.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Cali and Cartagena right now?
Cartagena has cleaner air than Cali right now: AQI 52 (Moderate) against 81 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Cali's PM2.5 is about 1.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Cali is read from a nearby ground station and Cartagena is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
CaliCartagena
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).
Cali: Ground station · colegio Bolivar, 10.4 km away. Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, Juan Carlos.
Cartagena: 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, Cali averaged AQI 23 against 37, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 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
- Cali5Cartagena2
- Average AQI
- Cali23Cartagena37
- Worst day, AQI
- Cali30Cartagena53
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Cali | Cartagena |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 17 | 44 |
| Nov 5 | 14 | 40 |
| Nov 6 | 19 | 25 |
| Nov 7 | 30 | 28 |
| Nov 8 | 27 | 25 |
| Nov 9 | 27 | 43 |
| Nov 10 | 29 | 53 |
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 Cali and Cartagena 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 Cali and Cartagena compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Cali's air is cleaner than 30% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Cartagena's is cleaner than 59%. Within Colombia, that is 6% and 53% of its 48 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Cali
- Beats 30%
- Cartagena
- Beats 59%
More tree cover than…
- Cali
- Beats 13%
- Cartagena
- Beats 36%
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, Cali or Cartagena?
Cartagena has lost more: about 785 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 220 ha around Cali. 775 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: 2001, with 62 ha lost.
Worst year: 2018, with 103 ha lost.
| Cali | Cartagena | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 220 ha (better) | 785 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 4.3% (better) | 23% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 205 ha (better) | 775 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Farms, pasture and plantations (56%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (59%) |
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.
Cali
2017: satellite photo from August 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Cartagena
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Cali or Cartagena?
Cartagena has more tree cover: 15.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 6.5% around Cali, or about 48,928 trees against 20,420.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Cali | Cartagena | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 20.4K | 48.9K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 73.8K | 44.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 449K kg | 1.1M 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
Cali vs Cartagena: your questions answered
Is Cartagena cleaner than Cali?
On air quality, yes, right now: Cartagena reads AQI 52 against 81, a gap of 29 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, Cali averaged AQI 23 against 37, and it was the cleaner of the two on 5 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Cali and Cartagena today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Cali reads AQI 81 and Cartagena reads AQI 52.
Which has lost more forest, Cali or Cartagena?
Cartagena has lost more: about 785 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 220 ha around Cali. 775 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Cali or Cartagena?
Cartagena has more tree cover: 15.7% of the land within 2 km of its center against 6.5% around Cali, or about 48,928 trees against 20,420. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Cali and Cartagena need?
Cali needs about 73,827 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Cartagena about 44,565 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Cali and Cartagena 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. Cali is read from a nearby ground station and Cartagena 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 Cali vs Cartagena 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 19, 2026 and Sep 17, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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