Air quality comparison · Mexico, 2297 km apart
Mexico City vs Tijuana Air quality index (AQI) today
Tijuana has cleaner air than Mexico City right now: AQI 61 (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, Tijuana averaged AQI 58 against 82, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Tijuana has lost more forest since 2001. Mexico City 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 61
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 14.7 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Ground station
- Reading
- Nov 11, 09:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Mexico City107Tijuana61
Head to head
Mexico City vs Tijuana at a glance
Tijuana is ahead on 4 of 6 measures, and Mexico City on 2. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Mexico City | Tijuana | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 107 | 61 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 38 | 14.7 (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% (better) | 5.4% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 87.3K | 77.3K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Mexico City and Tijuana right now?
Tijuana has cleaner air than Mexico City right now: AQI 61 (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.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
Mexico CityTijuana
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, Tijuana 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 City0Tijuana7
- Average AQI
- Mexico City82Tijuana58
- Worst day, AQI
- Mexico City105Tijuana67
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Mexico City | Tijuana |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 70 | 39 |
| Nov 5 | 89 | 57 |
| Nov 6 | 73 | 67 |
| Nov 7 | 79 | 56 |
| Nov 8 | 74 | 61 |
| Nov 9 | 105 | 61 |
| Nov 10 | 85 | 64 |
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 Tijuana today?
Mexico City (AQI 107, Unhealthy for sensitive groups): Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity.
Tijuana (AQI 61, 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.
- Tijuana
- 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.
- Tijuana
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Mexico City
- Sensitive groups: an N95 outdoors.
- Tijuana
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Mexico City
- Run one, especially in bedrooms.
- Tijuana
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Mexico City and Tijuana 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 Tijuana's is cleaner than 46%. Within Mexico, that is 12% and 53% of its 114 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Mexico City
- Beats 19%
- Tijuana
- Beats 46%
More tree cover than…
- Mexico City
- Beats 15%
- Tijuana
- Beats 11%
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 Tijuana?
Tijuana 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. 15 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: 2007, with 5 ha lost.
| Mexico City | Tijuana | |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | 16% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 15 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 (48%) |
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.
Tijuana
2018: satellite photo from September 2018 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Mexico City or Tijuana?
Mexico City has more tree cover: 7.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 5.4% around Tijuana, or about 22,619 trees against 16,965.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Mexico City | Tijuana | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 22.6K (better) | 17.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 87.3K | 77.3K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 498K kg (better) | 373K 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 Tijuana: your questions answered
Is Tijuana cleaner than Mexico City?
On air quality, yes, right now: Tijuana reads AQI 61 against 107, a gap of 46 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, Tijuana 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 Tijuana today?
In Mexico City, at AQI 107: Sensitive groups should limit long or intense outdoor activity. In Tijuana, at AQI 61: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Mexico City or Tijuana?
Tijuana 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. 15 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Mexico City or Tijuana?
Mexico City has more tree cover: 7.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 5.4% around Tijuana, or about 22,619 trees against 16,965. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Mexico City and Tijuana need?
Mexico City needs about 87,336 more to reach its canopy target of 35%, and Tijuana about 77,283 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Mexico City and Tijuana 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 Tijuana 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 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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