Air quality
Air quality in Ensenada today
Updated
Moderate (US AQI 67) Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. Model estimate for Sun, Oct 25, 7:00 pm (02:00 UTC).
Live AQI, PM2.5, PM10 and ozone for Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, with a 48-hour forecast and the best time to be outside.
- US AQI now
- 67 Moderate
- PM2.5
- 10 µg/m³ 0.7× WHO 24-h guideline
- PM10
- 13 µg/m³
- Ozone
- 102 µg/m³
- Dominant pollutant
- ozone sub-index 67
- Best hour tomorrow
- 6:00 am AQI 52
- European AQI
- 42
Air quality in Ensenada right now
Right now the modelled US Air Quality Index for Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico is 67, which falls in the "Moderate" band (up to 100). Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors.
The index is driven mainly by ozone, whose own sub-index is 67. Ozone usually peaks in the afternoon on sunny days and falls back after sunset.
PM2.5 is 10 µg/m³, within the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 µg/m³; PM10 is 13 µg/m³ against a guideline of 45; ozone is 102 µg/m³ (above the WHO 8-hour level of 100); nitrogen dioxide is 5.5 µg/m³ (below the 24-hour guideline of 25).
Also this hour: carbon monoxide 538 µg/m³.
NASA FIRMS shows 30 fire hotspots within 300 km in the last day (nearest about 3 km), but particle levels are not elevated enough to point to smoke right now.
Ensenada AQI forecast: next 48 hours
Over the next 24 hours the AQI is forecast to range from 48 around Sun 11:00 pm to 67 around Sun 7:00 pm, from "Good" at best to "Moderate" at worst.
The following day looks similar, averaging about 58.
| Local time (America/Tijuana) | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 7:00 pm | 67 | Moderate | 10.2 | 13 | 102 |
| Sun 10:00 pm | 51 | Moderate | 12.5 | 15 | 64 |
| Mon 1:00 am | 50 | Good | 14.8 | 17 | 37 |
| Mon 4:00 am | 52 | Moderate | 12.1 | 14 | 26 |
| Mon 7:00 am | 52 | Moderate | 9.5 | 11 | 17 |
| Mon 10:00 am | 52 | Moderate | 10.7 | 13 | 70 |
| Mon 1:00 pm | 54 | Moderate | 11.2 | 14 | 110 |
| Mon 4:00 pm | 55 | Moderate | 11.8 | 16 | 111 |
| Mon 7:00 pm | 55 | Moderate | 10.8 | 14 | 94 |
| Mon 10:00 pm | 55 | Moderate | 12.9 | 17 | 68 |
| Tue 1:00 am | 55 | Moderate | 19 | 23 | 39 |
| Tue 4:00 am | 57 | Moderate | 19.9 | 22 | 27 |
| Tue 7:00 am | 58 | Moderate | 17.5 | 20 | 29 |
| Tue 10:00 am | 60 | Moderate | 14.3 | 18 | 75 |
| Tue 1:00 pm | 61 | Moderate | 11.7 | 16 | 108 |
| Tue 4:00 pm | 61 | Moderate | 11.1 | 16 | 104 |
| Tue 7:00 pm | 61 | Moderate | 10.3 | 15 | 84 |
Every third hour of the CAMS forecast via Open-Meteo. US AQI uses rolling averages (24 h for particles, 8 h for ozone), so it moves more slowly than the hourly concentrations.
Best time to be outside in Ensenada tomorrow
Between 6 am and 9 pm local time, the cleanest air tomorrow is forecast around 6:00 am (AQI 52, Moderate) and the worst around 4:00 pm (AQI 55). The difference across the day is small, so timing matters little.
Ensenada vs the rest of Mexico
Across 96 Mexico cities we track, the average US AQI right now is 44 (Good). Ensenada at 67 is 23 points worse than average.
It ranks 93 of 96 from cleanest to most polluted; the cleanest is Irapuato (33) and the most polluted Jiutepec (84).
For context, the median across 3,556 cities worldwide is 58.
Air quality in cities near Ensenada
| City | Distance | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tijuana | 80 km | 59 | Moderate | 14.3 |
| Chula Vista | 97 km | 50 | Good | 10.7 |
| Spring Valley, CA | 104 km | 50 | Good | 10.7 |
| Coronado | 106 km | 63 | Moderate | 15.7 |
| San Diego | 108 km | 63 | Moderate | 15.7 |
| El Cajon | 108 km | 50 | Good | 10.7 |
| Mexicali | 137 km | 44 | Good | 4.6 |
| Escondido | 146 km | 55 | Moderate | 14.3 |
Model vs measured
We found no measured PM2.5 sensor cell within 25 km of Ensenada, so the numbers on this page are model estimates. Models capture regional pollution well but can miss very local sources such as a busy road or a nearby fire.
Advice for sensitive groups
At 67, most people are fine outdoors. If you are unusually sensitive to ozone, keep long or intense workouts to the cleaner hours shown above.
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Values on this page are modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) and served by Open-Meteo; they are estimates for the area around the city centre, not readings from an official monitor.
Nearby cities
More for Ensenada
Air quality elsewhere
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), NASA FIRMS.