Air quality comparison · Mexico, 184 km apart
Mexico City vs Santiago de Querétaro Air quality index (AQI) today
Santiago de Querétaro has cleaner air than Mexico City right now: AQI 69 (Moderate) against 107 (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, Santiago de Querétaro averaged AQI 58 against 82, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Santiago de Querétaro has lost more forest since 2001. Santiago de Querétaro has more tree cover.
Mexico
AQI 107
Unhealthy for sensitive groups
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 38 µg/m³2.5× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 11:00 local
Mexico
AQI 69
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 18.5 µg/m³1.2× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 18:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Mexico City107Santiago de Querétaro69
Head to head
Mexico City vs Santiago de Querétaro at a glance
Santiago de Querétaro is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Mexico City on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Mexico City | Santiago de Querétaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 107 | 69 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 38 | 18.5 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 82 | 58 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | under 1 ha (better) | 23 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 7.2% | 8.8% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 87.3K | 66.6K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Mexico City and Santiago de Querétaro right now?
Santiago de Querétaro has cleaner air than Mexico City right now: AQI 69 (Moderate) against 107 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Mexico City's PM2.5 is about 2.5× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Santiago de Querétaro's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Mexico City is read from a nearby ground station and Santiago de Querétaro is a model estimate, so the two are not quite like for like.
Mexico CitySantiago de Querétaro
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).
Mexico City: Ground station · Merced, 900 m away · median of 9 stations. Data: OpenAQ · Sinaica Mexico.
Santiago de Querétaro: Estimate · model corrected with 4 station cities within 165 km, e.g. Ciudad Nicolás Romero and Zumpango de Ocampo. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, corrected with 4 ground-station cities within 165 km, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Santiago de Querétaro averaged AQI 58 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 City0Santiago de Querétaro7
- Average AQI
- Mexico City82Santiago de Querétaro58
- Worst day, AQI
- Mexico City105Santiago de Querétaro68
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Mexico City | Santiago de Querétaro |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 70 | 41 |
| Nov 5 | 89 | 60 |
| Nov 6 | 73 | 49 |
| Nov 7 | 79 | 60 |
| Nov 8 | 74 | 58 |
| Nov 9 | 105 | 67 |
| Nov 10 | 85 | 68 |
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 Santiago de Querétaro today?
Mexico City (AQI 107, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Santiago de Querétaro (AQI 69, 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.
- Santiago de Querétaro
- 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.
- Santiago de Querétaro
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Mexico City
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Santiago de Querétaro
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Mexico City
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Santiago de Querétaro
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Mexico City and Santiago de Querétaro compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Mexico City's air is cleaner than 19% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Santiago de Querétaro's is cleaner than 38%. Within Mexico, that is 12% and 44% of its 114 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Mexico City
- Beats 19%
- Santiago de Querétaro
- Beats 38%
More tree cover than…
- Mexico City
- Beats 15%
- 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, Mexico City 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 under 1 ha around Mexico City. 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.
Worst year: 2013, with under 1 ha lost.
Worst year: 2018, with 6 ha lost.
| Mexico City | Santiago de Querétaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | under 1 ha (better) | 23 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | under 1% (better) | under 1% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 21 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 (60%) |
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.
Santiago de Querétaro
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Mexico City or Santiago de Querétaro?
Santiago de Querétaro has more tree cover: 8.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 7.2% around Mexico City, or about 27,646 trees against 22,619.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Mexico City | Santiago de Querétaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 22.6K | 27.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 87.3K | 66.6K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 498K kg | 608K 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
Mexico City vs Santiago de Querétaro: your questions answered
Is Santiago de Querétaro cleaner than Mexico City?
On air quality, yes, right now: Santiago de Querétaro reads AQI 69 against 107, a gap of 38 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, Santiago de Querétaro averaged AQI 58 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 Santiago de Querétaro today?
In Mexico City, at AQI 107: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Santiago de Querétaro, at AQI 69: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Mexico City 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 under 1 ha around Mexico City. 21 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Mexico City or Santiago de Querétaro?
Santiago de Querétaro has more tree cover: 8.8% of the land within 2 km of its center against 7.2% around Mexico City, or about 27,646 trees against 22,619. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Mexico City and Santiago de Querétaro need?
Mexico City needs about 87,336 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, 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 Mexico City 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. Mexico City is read from a nearby ground station and Santiago de Querétaro 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 Mexico City 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 9, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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