Air quality comparison · Cuba, 761 km apart
Havana vs Santiago de Cuba Air quality index (AQI) today
Santiago de Cuba has cleaner air than Havana right now: AQI 18 (Good) against 24 (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, both averaged AQI 28. Santiago de Cuba has lost more forest since 2001. Santiago de Cuba has more tree cover.
Cuba
AQI 24
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 4.5 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 15:00 local
Cuba
AQI 18
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 3 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 15:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Havana24Santiago de Cuba18
Head to head
Havana vs Santiago de Cuba at a glance
Santiago de Cuba is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Havana on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Havana | Santiago de Cuba | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 24 | 18 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 4.5 | 3 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 28 | 28 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 23 ha (better) | 1,080 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 14.9% | 20.6% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 41.6K | 28.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Havana and Santiago de Cuba right now?
Santiago de Cuba has cleaner air than Havana right now: AQI 18 (Good) against 24 (Good). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
HavanaSantiago de Cuba
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).
Havana: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Santiago de Cuba: 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, both averaged AQI 28. A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon; the week says whether it was the weather or the place.
- Cleaner days
- Havana2Santiago de Cuba3
- Average AQI
- Havana28Santiago de Cuba28
- Worst day, AQI
- Havana37Santiago de Cuba33
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Havana | Santiago de Cuba |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 35 | 28 |
| Nov 5 | 24 | 29 |
| Nov 6 | 30 | 30 |
| Nov 7 | 37 | 33 |
| Nov 8 | 31 | 31 |
| Nov 9 | 19 | 27 |
| Nov 10 | 21 | 20 |
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 Havana and Santiago de Cuba 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 Havana and Santiago de Cuba compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Havana's air is cleaner than 85% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Santiago de Cuba's is cleaner than 90%. Within Cuba, that is 0% and 50% of its 17 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Havana
- Beats 85%
- Santiago de Cuba
- Beats 90%
More tree cover than…
- Havana
- Beats 34%
- Santiago de Cuba
- Beats 48%
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, Havana or Santiago de Cuba?
Santiago de Cuba has lost more: about 1,080 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 23 ha around Havana. 1,010 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: 2002, with 4 ha lost.
Worst year: 2025, with 206 ha lost.
| Havana | Santiago de Cuba | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 23 ha (better) | 1,080 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 3.5% (better) | 7.6% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 20 ha (better) | 1,010 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Speeding up |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (67%) | Farms, pasture and plantations (74%) |
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.
Havana
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Santiago de Cuba
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km southeast of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Havana or Santiago de Cuba?
Santiago de Cuba has more tree cover: 20.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.9% around Havana, or about 62,646 trees against 41,052.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Havana | Santiago de Cuba | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 41.1K | 62.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 41.6K | 28.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 903K kg | 1.4M 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
Havana vs Santiago de Cuba: your questions answered
Is Santiago de Cuba cleaner than Havana?
On air quality, yes, right now: Santiago de Cuba reads AQI 18 against 24, a gap of 6 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, both averaged AQI 28.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Havana and Santiago de Cuba today?
The advice is the same for both today. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. Havana reads AQI 24 and Santiago de Cuba reads AQI 18.
Which has lost more forest, Havana or Santiago de Cuba?
Santiago de Cuba has lost more: about 1,080 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 23 ha around Havana. 1,010 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Havana or Santiago de Cuba?
Santiago de Cuba has more tree cover: 20.6% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.9% around Havana, or about 62,646 trees against 41,052. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Havana and Santiago de Cuba need?
Havana needs about 41,603 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Santiago de Cuba about 28,586 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Havana and Santiago de Cuba 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 Havana vs Santiago de Cuba 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 14, 2026 and Sep 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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