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Air quality comparison · Dominican Republic, 137 km apart

Santiago de los Caballeros vs Santo Domingo Air quality index (AQI) today

Santiago de los Caballeros has cleaner air than Santo Domingo right now: AQI 50 (Good) against 65 (Moderate).

That puts them in different EPA bands, so the health advice differs today. Over the past 7 days, on modeled daily averages, Santiago de los Caballeros averaged AQI 49 against 62, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days. Santiago de los Caballeros has lost more forest since 2001. Santiago de los Caballeros has more tree cover.

Santiago de los Caballeros

Dominican Republic

AQI 50

Good

Cleaner right now

PM2.5
7.7 µg/m³
Main pollutant
PM2.5
Source
Model estimate
Reading
Nov 10, 19:00 local
Santo Domingo

Dominican Republic

AQI 65

Moderate

PM2.5
17.2 µg/m³1.1× WHO guideline
Main pollutant
PM2.5
Source
Model estimate
Reading
Nov 10, 19:00 local

Updated . Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf.

Santiago de los Caballeros50Santo Domingo65

Head to head

Santiago de los Caballeros vs Santo Domingo at a glance

Santiago de los Caballeros is ahead on 5 of 6 measures, and Santo Domingo on 1. The better figure in each row is marked.

Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo compared on air quality, forest loss and tree cover
Santiago de los CaballerosSanto Domingo
Air quality nowUS AQI. Lower is better.50 (better)65
PM2.5Fine particles, µg/m³.7.7 (better)17.2
Past week's averageUS AQI, 7 days.49 (better)62
Forest lost since 2001Within 10 km of the center.1,780 ha348 ha (better)
Tree coverWithin 2 km of the center.29.0% (better)14.5%
Trees still neededTo reach a healthy canopy.3.1K (better)35.6K
Santiago de los Caballeros air quality reportThe live map, every pollutant and the past weekSanto Domingo air quality reportThe live map, every pollutant and the past week

Air quality today

What is the air like in Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo right now?

Santiago de los Caballeros has cleaner air than Santo Domingo right now: AQI 50 (Good) against 65 (Moderate). PM2.5 is setting the index in both.

Santo Domingo's PM2.5 is about 1.1× the WHO's 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³.

Both readings are model estimates, with no ground station close enough to either.

Santiago de los CaballerosSanto Domingo

7.7PM2.5, µg/m³17.2
8.1PM10, µg/m³23.7
19.6Nitrogen dioxide, µg/m³14.6
48Ozone, µg/m³44

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 de los Caballeros: Model estimate · no ground station nearby. Data: Open-Meteo / CAMS, US EPA index.

Santo Domingo: 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, Santiago de los Caballeros averaged AQI 49 against 62, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 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
Santiago de los Caballeros6Santo Domingo1
Average AQI
Santiago de los Caballeros49Santo Domingo62
Worst day, AQI
Santiago de los Caballeros57Santo Domingo74
Santiago de los CaballerosSanto Domingo
50Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6Nov 7Nov 8Nov 9Nov 10
The daily numbers (7 days)
Daily air quality index for Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo
DaySantiago de los CaballerosSanto Domingo
Nov 45768
Nov 55574
Nov 63953
Nov 74364
Nov 84766
Nov 94656
Nov 105756

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 de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo today?

Santiago de los Caballeros (AQI 50, Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

Santo Domingo (AQI 65, Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Exercise outdoors

Santiago de los Caballeros
A good day to be active outside.
Santo Domingo
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier.

Windows

Santiago de los Caballeros
Open them to air the house.
Santo Domingo
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution.

Masks

Santiago de los Caballeros
Not needed.
Santo Domingo
Not needed for most people.

Air purifier

Santiago de los Caballeros
Not needed.
Santo Domingo
Worth running if you are sensitive.

Against everywhere else

How do Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo compare with the rest of the world?

Right now Santiago de los Caballeros's air is cleaner than 62% of the 5,420 places Airleaf tracks, and Santo Domingo's is cleaner than 43%. Within Dominican Republic, that is 50% and 0% of its 11 measured places.

Cleaner air than…

Santiago de los Caballeros
Beats 62%
Santo Domingo
Beats 43%

More tree cover than…

Santiago de los Caballeros
Beats 67%
Santo Domingo
Beats 33%

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 de los Caballeros or Santo Domingo?

Santiago de los Caballeros has lost more: about 1,780 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 348 ha around Santo Domingo. 1,770 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.

Santiago de los Caballeros
20012025

Worst year: 2004, with 125 ha lost.

Santo Domingo
20012025

Worst year: 2002, with 26 ha lost.

Forest loss around Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo, 2001 to 2025
Santiago de los CaballerosSanto Domingo
Forest lost since 2001Cleared, burned or logged.1,780 ha348 ha (better)
Share of its forestOf what it had in 2000.23%19% (better)
Cleared for goodTurned into farms, mines or towns.1,770 ha345 ha (better)
Recent trend2021–2025 against the five years before.Holding steadyToo little to call
Main known causeFarms, pasture and plantations (64%)Towns and roads (98%)
Deforestation around Santiago de los Caballeros, year by yearDeforestation around Santo Domingo, year by year

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 de los Caballeros

Satellite image of the area around Santiago de los Caballeros, January 2017

2017: satellite photo from January 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km southwest of the city center.

Santo Domingo

Satellite image of the area around Santo Domingo, February 2017

2017: satellite photo from February 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km north of the city center.

Trees

Which has more trees, Santiago de los Caballeros or Santo Domingo?

Santiago de los Caballeros has more tree cover: 29.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.5% around Santo Domingo, or about 91,106 trees against 33,345.

Santiago de los Caballeros29.0% of a 30% target
Santo Domingo14.5% of a 30% target

The dark mark is each place's canopy target: 30% of the land, raised where air quality is poor.

Tree figures for Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo
Santiago de los CaballerosSanto Domingo
Trees standingEstimated from the canopy area.91.1K (better)33.3K
Trees still neededTo reach the target. Fewer is better.3.1K (better)35.6K
CO₂ absorbed each yearBy the trees already standing.2.0M kg (better)734K 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.

Santiago de los Caballeros29.0% tree cover · Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, Sep 19, 2026
Santo Domingo14.5% tree cover · Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, Jul 28, 2026

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 de los Caballeros vs Santo Domingo: your questions answered

Is Santiago de los Caballeros cleaner than Santo Domingo?

On air quality, yes, right now: Santiago de los Caballeros reads AQI 50 against 65, a gap of 15 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 los Caballeros averaged AQI 49 against 62, and it was the cleaner of the two on 6 of those days.

Is it safe to exercise outdoors in Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo today?

In Santiago de los Caballeros, at AQI 50: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone. In Santo Domingo, at AQI 65: Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Which has lost more forest, Santiago de los Caballeros or Santo Domingo?

Santiago de los Caballeros has lost more: about 1,780 ha of forest within 10 km of its center from 2001 to 2025, against 348 ha around Santo Domingo. 1,770 ha of that was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.

Which has more trees, Santiago de los Caballeros or Santo Domingo?

Santiago de los Caballeros has more tree cover: 29.0% of the land within 2 km of its center against 14.5% around Santo Domingo, or about 91,106 trees against 33,345. Both figures describe the same-sized circle of ground around each center, not the whole municipality.

How many more trees do Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo need?

Santiago de los Caballeros needs about 3,142 more to reach its canopy target of 30%, and Santo Domingo about 35,645 to reach 30%. The target starts at 30% of the land and rises where air quality is poor.

Are Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo 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 de los Caballeros vs Santo Domingo 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 19, 2026 and Jul 28, 2026), and the forest figures are published yearly.

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