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Air quality comparison · Mexico, 147 km apart

León de los Aldama vs Santiago de Querétaro Air quality index (AQI) today

Santiago de Querétaro has cleaner air than León de los Aldama right now: AQI 77 (Moderate) against 80 (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, León de los Aldama averaged AQI 48 against 58, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Santiago de Querétaro has lost more forest since 2001. Santiago de Querétaro has more tree cover.

León de los Aldama

Mexico

AQI 80

Moderate

PM2.5
25.9 µg/m³1.7× WHO guideline
Main pollutant
PM2.5
Source
Model estimate
Reading
Nov 10, 18:00 local
Santiago de Querétaro

Mexico

AQI 77

Moderate

Cleaner right now

PM2.5
22.9 µg/m³1.5× WHO guideline
Main pollutant
PM2.5
Source
Ground station
Reading
Nov 11, 11:00 local

Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.

León de los Aldama80Santiago de Querétaro77

Head to head

León de los Aldama vs Santiago de Querétaro at a glance

Santiago de Querétaro is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and León de los Aldama on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.

León de los Aldama and Santiago de Querétaro compared on air quality, forest loss and tree cover
León de los AldamaSantiago de Querétaro
Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better.8077 (better)
PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³.25.922.9 (better)
Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days.48 (better)58
Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center.13 ha (better)23 ha
Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center.4.4%8.8% (better)
Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy.80.4K66.6K (better)
León de los Aldama air quality reportThe live map, every pollutant and the past weekSantiago de Querétaro air quality reportThe live map, every pollutant and the past week

Air quality today

What is the air like in León de los Aldama and Santiago de Querétaro right now?

Santiago de Querétaro has cleaner air than León de los Aldama right now: AQI 77 (Moderate) against 80 (Moderate). 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. Santiago de Querétaro's PM2.5 is about 1.5× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.

Santiago de Querétaro 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 AldamaSantiago de Querétaro

25.9PM2.5, µg/m³22.9
16.9PM10, µg/m³56.5
12.3Nitrogen dioxide, µg/m³33.5
100Ozone, µg/m³24.5

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 4 station cities within 185 km, e.g. Aguascalientes and Santiago de Querétaro. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 185 km, US EPA index.

Santiago de Querétaro: Ground station · Carrillo Puerto, 5.7 km away · median of 5 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Sinaica Mexico.

The past week

Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?

But over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, León de los Aldama averaged AQI 48 against 58, 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
León de los Aldama6Santiago de Querétaro1
Average AQI
León de los Aldama48Santiago de Querétaro58
Worst day, AQI
León de los Aldama63Santiago de Querétaro68
León de los AldamaSantiago de Querétaro
50Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9Nov 10
The daily numbers (7 days)
Daily air quality index for León de los Aldama and Santiago de Querétaro
DayLeón de los AldamaSantiago de Querétaro
Nov 43941
Nov 53360
Nov 63049
Nov 75360
Nov 86358
Nov 95767
Nov 106168

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 Santiago de Querétaro 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 León de los Aldama and Santiago de Querétaro compare with the rest of the world?

Right now León de los Aldama's air is cleaner than 30% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Santiago de Querétaro's is cleaner than 32%. Within Mexico, that is 35% and 36% of its 114 measured places.

Cleaner air than…

León de los Aldama
Beats 30%
Santiago de Querétaro
Beats 32%

More tree cover than…

León de los Aldama
Beats 9%
Santiago de Querétaro
Beats 18%

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 Santiago de Querétaro?

Santiago de Querétaro has lost more: about 23 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 13 ha around León de los Aldama. 21 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.

León de los Aldama
20012025

Worst year: 2001, with 6 ha lost.

Santiago de Querétaro
20012025

Worst year: 2018, with 6 ha lost.

Forest loss around León de los Aldama and Santiago de Querétaro, 2001 to 2025
León de los AldamaSantiago de Querétaro
Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged.13 ha (better)23 ha
Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000.9.1%under 1% (better)
Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns.11 ha (better)21 ha
Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before.Too little to callToo little to call
Main known causeTowns and roads (44%)Towns and roads (60%)
Deforestation around León de los Aldama, year by yearDeforestation around Santiago de Querétaro, year by year

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

Satellite image of the area around León de los Aldama, January 2017

2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.

Santiago de Querétaro

Satellite image of the area around Santiago de Querétaro, March 2017

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 Santiago de Querétaro?

Santiago de Querétaro has more tree cover: 8.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.4% around León de los Aldama, or about 27,646 trees against 13,823.

León de los Aldama4.4% of a 30% target
Santiago de Querétaro8.8% of a 30% target

The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.

Tree figures for León de los Aldama and Santiago de Querétaro
León de los AldamaSantiago de Querétaro
Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area.13.8K27.6K (better)
Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better.80.4K66.6K (better)
CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing.304K kg608K 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.

León de los Aldama4.4% tree cover · Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, Sep 5, 2026
Santiago de Querétaro8.8% tree cover · Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, Sep 10, 2026

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 Santiago de Querétaro: your questions answered

Is Santiago de Querétaro cleaner than León de los Aldama?

On air quality, yes, right now: Santiago de Querétaro reads AQI 77 against 80, a gap of 3 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, León de los Aldama averaged AQI 48 against 58, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.

Is it safe to exercise outdoors in León de los Aldama and Santiago de Querétaro today?

The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. León de los Aldama reads AQI 80 and Santiago de Querétaro reads AQI 77.

Which has lost more forest, León de los Aldama or Santiago de Querétaro?

Santiago de Querétaro has lost more: about 23 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 13 ha around León de los Aldama. 21 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.

Which has more trees, León de los Aldama or Santiago de Querétaro?

Santiago de Querétaro has more tree cover: 8.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 4.4% around León de los Aldama, or about 27,646 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 Santiago de Querétaro need?

León de los Aldama needs about 80,425 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Santiago de Querétaro about 66,602 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.

Are León de los Aldama and Santiago de Querétaro 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. Santiago de Querétaro 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 Santiago de Querétaro 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 10, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.

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