Air quality comparison · Mexico, 106 km apart
Mexico City vs Puebla Air quality index (AQI) today
Puebla has cleaner air than Mexico City right now: AQI 86 (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, Puebla averaged AQI 59 against 82, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Puebla has lost more forest since 2001. Mexico City has more tree cover.
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
Mexico
AQI 86
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 27.8 µg/m³1.9× 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.
Mexico City110Puebla86
Head to head
Mexico City vs Puebla at a glance
Puebla is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Mexico City on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Mexico City | Puebla | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 110 | 86 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 39 | 27.8 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 82 | 59 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | under 1 ha (better) | 13 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 7.2% (better) | 7.1% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 87.3K | 71.9K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Mexico City and Puebla right now?
Puebla has cleaner air than Mexico City right now: AQI 86 (Moderate) against 110 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Mexico City's PM2.5 is about 2.6× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Puebla's PM2.5 is about 1.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Mexico CityPuebla
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).
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Puebla averaged AQI 59 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
- Mexico City0Puebla7
- Average AQI
- Mexico City82Puebla59
- Worst day, AQI
- Mexico City105Puebla80
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Mexico City | Puebla |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 70 | 53 |
| Nov 5 | 89 | 80 |
| Nov 6 | 73 | 57 |
| Nov 7 | 79 | 61 |
| Nov 8 | 74 | 49 |
| Nov 9 | 105 | 58 |
| Nov 10 | 85 | 56 |
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 Mexico City and Puebla today?
Mexico City (AQI 110, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Puebla (AQI 86, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Mexico City
- Children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease should cut down long or hard exercise.
- Puebla
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Mexico City
- Close them to keep the outside air out.
- Puebla
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Mexico City
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Puebla
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Mexico City
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Puebla
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Mexico City and Puebla compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Mexico City's air is cleaner than 18% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Puebla's is cleaner than 27%. Within Mexico, that is 15% and 33% of its 114 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Mexico City
- Beats 18%
- Puebla
- Beats 27%
More tree cover than…
- Mexico City
- Beats 15%
- Puebla
- Beats 14%
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, Mexico City or Puebla?
Puebla 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. 9 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: 2013, with under 1 ha lost.
Worst year: 2015, with 3 ha lost.
| Mexico City | Puebla | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | under 1 ha (better) | 13 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | under 1% (better) | 2.1% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 9 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Not classified | Towns and roads (72%) |
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.
Mexico City
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Puebla
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Mexico City or Puebla?
Mexico City has more tree cover: 7.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 7.1% around Puebla, or about 22,619 trees against 22,305.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Mexico City | Puebla | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 22.6K (better) | 22.3K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 87.3K | 71.9K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 498K kg (better) | 491K kg |
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
Mexico City vs Puebla: your questions answered
Is Puebla cleaner than Mexico City?
On air quality, yes, right now: Puebla reads AQI 86 against 110, a gap of 24 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, Puebla averaged AQI 59 against 82, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Mexico City and Puebla today?
In Mexico City, at AQI 110: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Puebla, at AQI 86: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Mexico City or Puebla?
Puebla 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. 9 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Mexico City or Puebla?
Mexico City has more tree cover: 7.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 7.1% around Puebla, or about 22,619 trees against 22,305. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Mexico City and Puebla need?
Mexico City needs about 87,336 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Puebla about 71,942 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Mexico City and Puebla 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 come from nearby ground stations. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Mexico City vs Puebla 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 9, 2026 and Sep 12, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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