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South America · air quality report · 31 cities

Chile air quality today The AQI right now, city by city

Right now the 31 cities Airleaf measures in Chile average AQI 49 (good). The worst air is in Calama, at AQI 72, and the cleanest in Punta Arenas, at AQI 4.

None of the 31 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 52% have Good air.

Average right now

AQI 49

Good

US EPA index, across 31 cities
cities measured
31
worst air: Calama
72
cleanest air: Punta Arenas
4
average tree cover
13.0%

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

Chile · average AQI 49

Air quality right now in the 8 largest cities in Chile

Santiago

2 km around Santiago

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 64

8.8%
tree cover

66.5K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Mar 13, 2026

Antofagasta

2 km around Antofagasta

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 55

0.7%
tree cover

58.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Sep 12, 2026

Viña del Mar

2 km around Viña del Mar

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 55

16.2%
tree cover

37.1K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Mar 13, 2026

Puerto Montt

2 km around Puerto Montt

Good

Air quality now

AQI 29

16.3%
tree cover

33.2K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Mar 10, 2026

Arica

2 km around Arica

Good

Air quality now

AQI 48

1.1%
tree cover

83.0K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Jul 14, 2026

Puente Alto

2 km around Puente Alto

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 58

7.9%
tree cover

69.4K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Mar 13, 2026

Maipú

2 km around Maipú

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 70

8.4%
tree cover

67.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Mar 13, 2026

San Bernardo

2 km around San Bernardo

Moderate

Air quality now

AQI 70

6.8%
tree cover

72.9K more trees would reach 30% tree cover

Satellite image Mar 13, 2026

Across the country

How clean is the air across Chile today?

None of the 31 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 52% have Good air. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

31 measured cities

  • Good16 (52%)
  • Moderate15 (48%)

Every measured city, including model estimates where no ground station is near.

In aggregate

Chile in numbers

Every figure below is read the same way over the same 2 km area per city, so they add up and compare like for like. Averaged across the 31 of 31 cities measured so far in Chile.

Average air quality
AQI 49Mean of the latest reading per city
Average tree cover
13.0%29 of 31 below their target
Trees counted
1.2MAcross every measured area
More trees needed
1.5MTo bring each area to its target

Worst air quality right now

  1. 1Calama14h ago72
  2. 2San Bernardo14h ago70
  3. 3Maipú14h ago70
  4. 4Lampa13h ago65
  5. 5Colina13h ago65
  6. 6Santiago15h ago64
  7. 7Quilicura14h ago62
  8. 8Puente Alto14h ago58
  9. 9Peñalolén14h ago58
  10. 10Los Ángeles13h ago58

Cleanest air right now

  1. 1Punta Arenas19h ago4
  2. 2Coquimbo1d ago24
  3. 3La Serena1d ago24
  4. 4Puerto Montt20h ago29
  5. 5Villa Mercedes1d ago29
  6. 6Iquique9h ago35
  7. 7Talca14h ago38
  8. 8Rancagua14h ago39
  9. 9Valdivia13h ago42
  10. 10Coronel13h ago44

Greenest cities in Chile

  1. 1Coronel36.2%
  2. 2Concepción28.4%
  3. 3Osorno26.9%
  4. 4Valdivia26.3%
  5. 5Temuco26.2%
  6. 6Talcahuano18.9%
  7. 7Peñalolén17.5%
  8. 8Quilpué16.5%
  9. 9Puerto Montt16.3%
  10. 10Viña del Mar16.2%

Least tree cover in Chile

Excludes barren and desert sites

  1. 1Antofagasta0.7%
  2. 2Arica1.1%
  3. 3Copiapó1.9%
  4. 4Calama2.5%
  5. 5Coquimbo4.6%
  6. 6Quilicura6.0%
  7. 7Punta Arenas6.4%
  8. 8Colina6.6%
  9. 9San Bernardo6.8%
  10. 10Rancagua7.3%

Against everywhere else

How does Chile compare with other countries?

Right now the cities of Chile average cleaner air than 54% of the 171 countries Airleaf has enough cities to average, and more tree cover than 25%.

Cleaner air than…

Chile
Beats 54%

More tree cover than…

Chile
Beats 25%

See the most polluted and cleanest air rankings for every country.

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Chile lost?

Since 2001, Chile has lost about 2.43 million hectares of forest (about 24,000 km²): 14% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 96,100 hectares (4%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.

Forest lost since 2001
2.43 million haabout 24,000 km²
Share of its forest
14%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
96,100 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest lost each year in Chile, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year in Chile, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.214K

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year in Chile, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
20013,720 ha68,900 ha72,600 ha
20022,500 ha75,400 ha77,900 ha
20033,920 ha78,700 ha82,600 ha
20042,970 ha82,500 ha85,500 ha
20054,950 ha102,000 ha107,000 ha
20062,710 ha88,900 ha91,600 ha
20076,740 ha114,000 ha121,000 ha
20086,520 ha116,000 ha123,000 ha
20092,710 ha85,700 ha88,400 ha
20103,720 ha87,600 ha91,300 ha
20113,630 ha95,500 ha99,100 ha
20126,170 ha168,000 ha174,000 ha
20135,230 ha96,800 ha102,000 ha
20146,250 ha113,000 ha119,000 ha
20154,110 ha102,000 ha106,000 ha
20164,590 ha109,000 ha113,000 ha
20175,380 ha209,000 ha214,000 ha
20182,450 ha74,300 ha76,800 ha
20192,450 ha76,200 ha78,600 ha
20202,370 ha68,100 ha70,500 ha
20213,340 ha68,000 ha71,300 ha
20223,450 ha64,100 ha67,600 ha
20232,460 ha105,000 ha107,000 ha
20241,850 ha45,700 ha47,500 ha
20251,950 ha36,700 ha38,600 ha

Forest loss is slowing down: about 66,400 hectares a year in 2021–2025, down from 111,000 hectares a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2017, when about 214,000 hectares of forest were lost.

What is causing deforestation in Chile?

  • Loggingcan grow back82% · 1.98 million ha
  • Wildfirescan grow back12% · 281,000 ha
  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good3.6% · 86,900 ha

Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, towns and roads, mining and energy, shifting farming, unknown causes.

Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.

Chile's full deforestation report

Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. How it's measured

Chile as a whole

24.5% of Chile was forested as of 2024, against a 30% benchmark. Closing that gap nationally would take roughly 4.1B trees across 4.1M hectares. Source: World Bank (FAO).

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31 cities, A–Z

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Cleaner air at home in Chile

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Frequently asked

Air quality in Chile: your questions answered

What is the air quality in Chile today?

Right now the 31 cities Airleaf measures in Chile average AQI 49 (good). The worst air is in Calama, at AQI 72, and the cleanest in Punta Arenas, at AQI 4. None of the 31 measured cities is over AQI 100 today, and 52% have Good air.

Which city in Chile has the worst air right now?

Calama, at AQI 72 (Moderate) on the US EPA index. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Which city in Chile has the cleanest air right now?

Punta Arenas, at AQI 4 (Good). Both lists rank current readings, from ground stations wherever Chile has at least three cities with one.

Is the air in Chile safe to breathe today?

It depends on the city. 16 cities are Good, 15 cities are Moderate. At the national average of AQI 49: Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.

How much forest has Chile lost since 2001?

About 2.43 million ha from 2001 to 2025, 14% of the forest it had in 2000, from the University of Maryland's yearly satellite maps of forest loss. 96,100 ha of it was cleared for good, for farms, mines or towns.

Which city in Chile has the most trees?

Coronel, with 36.2% tree cover within 2 km of its center, measured from Sentinel-2 satellite images.

How does Airleaf measure air quality in Chile?

Each city's reading is the US EPA air quality index, from ground monitoring stations where one has reported recently nearby, and from the CAMS atmospheric model elsewhere; each city's report says which. Tree cover is measured over the same 2 km radius in every city, so the cities compare like for like.

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