Air quality comparison · Mexico, 326 km apart
León de los Aldama vs Mexico City Air quality index (AQI) today
León de los Aldama has cleaner air than Mexico City right now: AQI 78 (Moderate) against 110 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, León de los Aldama averaged AQI 48 against 82, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. León de los Aldama has lost more forest since 2001. Mexico City has more tree cover.
Mexico
AQI 78
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 24.9 µg/m³1.7× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 18:00 local
Mexico
AQI 110
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 39 µg/m³2.6× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 12:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
León de los Aldama78Mexico City110
Head to head
León de los Aldama vs Mexico City at a glance
León de los Aldama is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Mexico City on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| León de los Aldama | Mexico City | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 78 (better) | 110 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 24.9 (better) | 39 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 48 (better) | 82 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 13 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 4.4% | 7.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 80.4K (better) | 87.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in León de los Aldama and Mexico City right now?
León de los Aldama has cleaner air than Mexico City right now: AQI 78 (Moderate) against 110 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
León de los Aldama's PM2.5 is about 1.7× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Mexico City's PM2.5 is about 2.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Mexico City is read from a nearby ground station and León de los Aldama is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
León de los AldamaMexico City
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).
León de los Aldama: Estimate · model corrected with 3 station cities within 185 km, e.g. Santiago de Querétaro and San Pedro Tlaquepaque. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 3 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index.
Mexico City: Ground station · Merced, 900 m away · median of 9 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Sinaica Mexico.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, León de los Aldama averaged AQI 48 against 82, 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
- León de los Aldama7Mexico City0
- Average AQI
- León de los Aldama48Mexico City82
- Worst day, AQI
- León de los Aldama63Mexico City105
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | León de los Aldama | Mexico City |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 39 | 70 |
| Nov 5 | 33 | 89 |
| Nov 6 | 30 | 73 |
| Nov 7 | 53 | 79 |
| Nov 8 | 63 | 74 |
| Nov 9 | 57 | 105 |
| Nov 10 | 61 | 85 |
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 León de los Aldama and Mexico City today?
León de los Aldama (AQI 78, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Mexico City (AQI 110, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Exercise outdoors
- León de los Aldama
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
- Mexico City
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
Windows
- León de los Aldama
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
- Mexico City
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
Masks
- León de los Aldama
- Not needed for most people.
- Mexico City
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
Air purifier
- León de los Aldama
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
- Mexico City
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
Against everywhere else
How do León de los Aldama and Mexico City compare with the rest of the world?
Right now León de los Aldama's air is cleaner than 32% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Mexico City's is cleaner than 19%. Within Mexico, that is 37% and 14% of its 114 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- León de los Aldama
- Beats 32%
- Mexico City
- Beats 19%
More tree cover than…
- León de los Aldama
- Beats 9%
- Mexico City
- Beats 15%
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, León de los Aldama or Mexico City?
León de los Aldama has lost more: about 13 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Mexico City. 11 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 6 ha lost.
Worst year: 2013, with under 1 ha lost.
| León de los Aldama | Mexico City | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 13 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 9.1% | under 1% (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 11 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (44%) | Not classified |
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.
León de los Aldama
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Mexico City
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, León de los Aldama or Mexico City?
Mexico City has more tree cover: 7.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.4% around León de los Aldama, or about 22,619 trees against 13,823.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| León de los Aldama | Mexico City | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 13.8K | 22.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 80.4K (better) | 87.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 304K kg | 498K 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
León de los Aldama vs Mexico City: your questions answered
Is León de los Aldama cleaner than Mexico City?
On air quality, yes, right now: León de los Aldama reads AQI 78 against 110, a gap of 32 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, León de los Aldama averaged AQI 48 against 82, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in León de los Aldama and Mexico City today?
In León de los Aldama, at AQI 78: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. In Mexico City, at AQI 110: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Which has lost more forest, León de los Aldama or Mexico City?
León de los Aldama has lost more: about 13 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Mexico City. 11 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, León de los Aldama or Mexico City?
Mexico City has more tree cover: 7.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.4% around León de los Aldama, or about 22,619 trees against 13,823. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do León de los Aldama and Mexico City need?
León de los Aldama needs about 80,425 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Mexico City about 87,336 to reach 35%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are León de los Aldama and Mexico City 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. Mexico City is read from a nearby ground station and León de los Aldama 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 León de los Aldama vs Mexico City 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 5, 2026 and Sep 9, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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