Air quality comparison · Mexico, 2397 km apart
Puebla vs Tijuana Air quality index (AQI) today
Tijuana has cleaner air than Puebla right now: AQI 69 (Moderate) against 86 (Moderate).
Both sit in the same EPA band, so the health advice is the same for each today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Tijuana averaged AQI 58 against 59, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days. Tijuana has lost more forest since 2001. Puebla has more tree cover.
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Puebla86Tijuana69
Head to head
Puebla vs Tijuana at a glance
Puebla and Tijuana are level, each ahead on 3 of 6 measures. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Puebla | Tijuana | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 86 | 69 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 27.8 | 18.5 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 59 | 58 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 13 ha (better) | 23 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 7.1% (better) | 5.4% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 71.9K (better) | 77.3K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Puebla and Tijuana right now?
Tijuana has cleaner air than Puebla right now: AQI 69 (Moderate) against 86 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Puebla's PM2.5 is about 1.9× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³. Tijuana's PM2.5 is about 1.2× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings come from nearby ground stations.
PueblaTijuana
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 59, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 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
- Puebla4Tijuana3
- Average AQI
- Puebla59Tijuana58
- Worst day, AQI
- Puebla80Tijuana67
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Puebla | Tijuana |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 53 | 39 |
| Nov 5 | 80 | 57 |
| Nov 6 | 57 | 67 |
| Nov 7 | 61 | 56 |
| Nov 8 | 49 | 61 |
| Nov 9 | 58 | 61 |
| Nov 10 | 56 | 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 Puebla and Tijuana 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 Puebla and Tijuana compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Puebla's air is cleaner than 27% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Tijuana's is cleaner than 38%. Within Mexico, that is 33% and 45% of its 114 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Puebla
- Beats 27%
- Tijuana
- Beats 38%
More tree cover than…
- Puebla
- Beats 14%
- 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, Puebla or Tijuana?
Tijuana has lost more: about 23 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 13 ha around Puebla. 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: 2015, with 3 ha lost.
Worst year: 2007, with 5 ha lost.
| Puebla | Tijuana | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 13 ha (better) | 23 ha |
| Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000. | 2.1% (better) | 16% |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 9 ha (better) | 15 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (72%) | 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.
Puebla
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, Puebla or Tijuana?
Puebla has more tree cover: 7.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 5.4% around Tijuana, or about 22,305 trees against 16,965.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Puebla | Tijuana | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 22.3K (better) | 17.0K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 71.9K (better) | 77.3K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 491K 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
Puebla vs Tijuana: your questions answered
Is Tijuana cleaner than Puebla?
On air quality, yes, right now: Tijuana reads AQI 69 against 86, a gap of 17 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 59, and it was the cleaner of the two on 3 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Puebla and Tijuana today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Puebla reads AQI 86 and Tijuana reads AQI 69.
Which has lost more forest, Puebla or Tijuana?
Tijuana has lost more: about 23 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 13 ha around Puebla. 15 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Puebla or Tijuana?
Puebla has more tree cover: 7.1% of the land within 2 km of its center against 5.4% around Tijuana, or about 22,305 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 Puebla and Tijuana need?
Puebla needs about 71,942 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Tijuana about 77,283 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Puebla 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 Puebla 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 12, 2026 and Sep 19, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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