Air quality comparison · Chile, 97 km apart
Santiago vs Viña del Mar Air quality index (AQI) today
Viña del Mar has cleaner air than Santiago right now: AQI 55 (Moderate) against 64 (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, Viña del Mar averaged AQI 36 against 71, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days. Viña del Mar has lost more forest since 2001. Viña del Mar has more tree cover.
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
Chile
AQI 55
Moderate
Cleaner right now
- PM2.5
- 11.7 µg/m³
- 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.
Santiago64Viña del Mar55
Head to head
Santiago vs Viña del Mar at a glance
Viña del Mar is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Santiago on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.
| Santiago | Viña del Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better. | 64 | 55 (better) |
| PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³. | 19.2 | 11.7 (better) |
| Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days. | 71 | 36 (better) |
| Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center. | under 1 ha (better) | 3,530 ha |
| Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center. | 8.8% | 16.2% (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy. | 66.5K | 37.1K (better) |
Air quality today
What is the air like in Santiago and Viña del Mar right now?
Viña del Mar has cleaner air than Santiago right now: AQI 55 (Moderate) 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.
SantiagoViña del Mar
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).
Santiago: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.
Viña del Mar: 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, Viña del Mar averaged AQI 36 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
- Santiago0Viña del Mar7
- Average AQI
- Santiago71Viña del Mar36
- Worst day, AQI
- Santiago91Viña del Mar50
The daily numbers (7 days)
| Day | Santiago | Viña del Mar |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 4 | 65 | 25 |
| Nov 5 | 89 | 38 |
| Nov 6 | 44 | 21 |
| Nov 7 | 69 | 28 |
| Nov 8 | 91 | 43 |
| Nov 9 | 84 | 50 |
| Nov 10 | 57 | 49 |
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 Santiago and Viña del Mar 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 Santiago and Viña del Mar compare with the rest of the world?
Right now Santiago's air is cleaner than 43% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Viña del Mar's is cleaner than 54%. Within Chile, that is 17% and 37% of its 31 measured places.
Cleaner air than…
- Santiago
- Beats 43%
- Viña del Mar
- Beats 54%
More tree cover than…
- Santiago
- Beats 18%
- Viña del Mar
- Beats 37%
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, Santiago or Viña del Mar?
Viña del Mar has lost more: about 3,530 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Santiago. 522 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: 2008, with under 1 ha lost.
Worst year: 2024, with 782 ha lost.
| Santiago | Viña del Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged. | under 1 ha (better) | 3,530 ha |
| Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns. | under 1 ha (better) | 522 ha |
| Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before. | Too little to call | Holding steady |
| Main known cause | Not classified | Wildfires (83%) |
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.
Santiago
2017: satellite photo from March 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.
Viña del Mar
2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km south of the city center.
Trees
Which has more trees, Santiago or Viña del Mar?
Viña del Mar has more tree cover: 16.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.8% around Santiago, or about 43,565 trees against 27,618.
The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.
| Santiago | Viña del Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area. | 27.6K | 43.6K (better) |
| Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better. | 66.5K | 37.1K (better) |
| CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing. | 608K kg | 958K 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
Santiago vs Viña del Mar: your questions answered
Is Viña del Mar cleaner than Santiago?
On air quality, yes, right now: Viña del Mar reads AQI 55 against 64, a gap of 9 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, Viña del Mar averaged AQI 36 against 71, and it was the cleaner of the two on 7 of those days.
Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Santiago and Viña del Mar today?
The advice is the same for both today. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion. Santiago reads AQI 64 and Viña del Mar reads AQI 55.
Which has lost more forest, Santiago or Viña del Mar?
Viña del Mar has lost more: about 3,530 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against under 1 ha around Santiago. 522 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.
Which has more trees, Santiago or Viña del Mar?
Viña del Mar has more tree cover: 16.2% of the land within 2 km of its center against 8.8% around Santiago, or about 43,565 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 Santiago and Viña del Mar need?
Santiago needs about 66,535 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Viña del Mar about 37,111 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.
Are Santiago and Viña del Mar 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 Santiago vs Viña del Mar 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 13, 2026 and Mar 13, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.
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