Air quality comparison · Chile, 914 km apart
Puerto Montt vs Santiago Air quality index (AQI) today
Puerto Montt has cleaner air than Santiago right now: AQI 29 (Good) against 64 (Moderate).
That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Puerto Montt averaged AQI 23 against 71, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Puerto Montt has lost more forest since 2001. Puerto Montt has more tree cover.
Chile
AQI 29
Good
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 5.8 µg/m³
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 16:00 local
Chile
AQI 64
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 19.2 µg/m³1.3× WHO guideline
- Main pollutant
- PM2.5
- Source
- Model estimate
- Reading
- Nov 10, 21:00 local
Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.
Puerto Montt29Santiago64
Head to head
Puerto Montt vs Santiago at a glance
Puerto Montt is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Santiago on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Puerto Montt | Santiago | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 29 (better) | 64 |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 5.8 (better) | 19.2 |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 23 (better) | 71 |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | 2,040 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 16.3% (better) | 8.8% |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 33.2K (better) | 66.5K |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Puerto Montt and Santiago right now?
Puerto Montt has cleaner air than Santiago right now: AQI 29 (Good) against 64 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.
Santiago's PM2.5 is about 1.3× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.
Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.
Puerto MonttSantiago
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).
Puerto Montt: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Santiago: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
The past week
Which had cleaner air over the past 7 days?
Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Puerto Montt averaged AQI 23 against 71, 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
- Puerto Montt7Santiago0
- Average AQI
- Puerto Montt23Santiago71
- Worst day, AQI
- Puerto Montt30Santiago91
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Puerto Montt | Santiago |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 30 | 65 |
| Nov 5 | 26 | 89 |
| Nov 6 | 9 | 44 |
| Nov 7 | 30 | 69 |
| Nov 8 | 18 | 91 |
| Nov 9 | 19 | 84 |
| Nov 10 | 27 | 57 |
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 Puerto Montt and Santiago today?
Puerto Montt (AQI 29, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Santiago (AQI 64, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Exercise outdoors
- Puerto Montt
- A good day to be active outside.
- Santiago
- Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.
Windows
- Puerto Montt
- Open them to air the house.
- Santiago
- Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.
Masks
- Puerto Montt
- Not needed.
- Santiago
- Not needed for most people.
Air purifier
- Puerto Montt
- Not needed.
- Santiago
- Worth running if you are sensitive.
Against everywhere else
How do Puerto Montt and Santiago compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Puerto Montt's air is cleaner than 80% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Santiago's is cleaner than 43%. Within Chile, that is 87% and 17% of its 31 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Puerto Montt
- Beats 80%
- Santiago
- Beats 43%
More tree cover than…
- Puerto Montt
- Beats 38%
- Santiago
- 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, Puerto Montt or Santiago?
Puerto Montt has lost more: about 2,040 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Santiago. 987 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: 2022, with 215 ha lost.
Worst year: 2008, with under 1 ha lost.
| Puerto Montt | Santiago | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | 2,040 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | 987 ha | under 1 ha (better) |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Speeding up | Too little to call |
| Main known cause | Towns and roads (43%) | Not classified |
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.
Puerto Montt
2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 6 km northeast of the city center.
Santiago
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Puerto Montt or Santiago?
Puerto Montt has more tree cover: 16.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.8% around Santiago, or about 39,533 trees against 27,618.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Puerto Montt | Santiago | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 39.5K (better) | 27.6K |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 33.2K (better) | 66.5K |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 870K kg (better) | 608K 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
Puerto Montt vs Santiago: your questions answered
Is Puerto Montt cleaner than Santiago?
On air quality, yes, right now: Puerto Montt reads AQI 29 against 64, a gap of 35 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, Puerto Montt averaged AQI 23 against 71, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Puerto Montt and Santiago today?
In Puerto Montt, at AQI 29: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Santiago, at AQI 64: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.
Which has lost more forest, Puerto Montt or Santiago?
Puerto Montt has lost more: about 2,040 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Santiago. 987 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Puerto Montt or Santiago?
Puerto Montt has more tree cover: 16.3% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.8% around Santiago, or about 39,533 trees against 27,618. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.
How many more trees do Puerto Montt and Santiago need?
Puerto Montt needs about 33,227 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Santiago about 66,535 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Puerto Montt and Santiago 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 are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either. Nothing is adjusted for population, city limits or climate.
How often does the Puerto Montt vs Santiago 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 (Mar 10, 2026 and Mar 13, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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