Where does the air-quality data come from?

From OpenAQ, which aggregates government and research-grade monitoring stations such as AirNow in the US. Each station's own licence is returned with the reading, and non-commercial stations are excluded so every result can be used in a commercial product.

How fresh are the readings?

Responses are edge-cached for 15 minutes. Each pollutant carries its own measurement timestamp and a stale flag, so your code can decide whether a reading is recent enough to show.

How is the AQI calculated?

The US EPA AQI is computed from the latest PM2.5, PM10, ozone, NO2, SO2 and CO values, returning the overall value, its category such as Good or Unhealthy, the dominant pollutant and the per-pollutant breakdown.

Can I find stations near a point rather than the nearest one?

Yes. The Nearby Stations endpoint lists every station within a radius in kilometres of a coordinate, with distance, provider, parameters measured and whether it is a reference monitor.

What does a call cost?

10 tokens per call. The free plan includes 500 tokens a month, enough for about 50 lookups, and paid plans start at 25,000 tokens a month.

DataMAINTAINED10 tokens / call

Air Quality API

Nearest-station PM2.5, ozone and US AQI readings for any coordinates

Latest air-quality readings — PM2.5, PM10, ozone, NO2, SO2, CO and more — from the nearest government and research-grade monitoring station to any coordinates, with a computed US EPA AQI (value, category, dominant pollutant), per-pollutant timestamps and staleness flags, a nearby-station directory, station detail and a pollutant catalogue. Open data via OpenAQ under each station's own government licence (public domain, CC BY, ODC-BY, UK OGL and similar; non-commercial stations excluded), edge-cached for 15 minutes.

Every call needs an X-Api-Key header. A free key includes 500 tokens a month, no card required. 10 tokens per call, so the free plan covers about 50 calls a month.

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response.json

{
  "ok": true,
  "latitude": 40.71,
  "longitude": -74,
  "station": {
    "id": 664,
    "name": "Bklyn - PS274",
    "locality": "New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island",
    "country": "US",
    "latitude": 40.694401,
    "longitude": -73.928596,
    "distance_km": 6.3,
    "provider": "AirNow",
    "reference_monitor": true,
    "mobile": false,
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "parameters": [
      "pm25"
    ],
    "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
    "active": true,
    "license": "US Public Domain",
    "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
  },
  "stale": false,
  "aqi_us": {
    "value": 33,
    "category": "Good",
    "dominant_pollutant": "pm25",
    "by_pollutant": {
      "pm25": 33
    },
    "note": "US EPA AQI computed from the latest particulate readings using the 24-hour breakpoints (2024 PM2.5 scale); gases are not included."
  },
  "measurements": [
    {
      "parameter": "pm25",
      "display_name": "PM2.5",
      "value": 5.9,
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
      "age_hours": 0.6,
      "stale": false
    }
  ],
  "nearby_stations": [
    {
      "id": 662,
      "name": "Division Street",
      "distance_km": 0.6,
      "last_updated": "2020-02-19T16:00:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": 642,
      "name": "PS 19",
      "distance_km": 2.6,
      "last_updated": "2017-12-18T10:00:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": 648,
      "name": "Bklyn - PS 314",
      "distance_km": 7.7,
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": 628,
      "name": "Maspeth",
      "distance_km": 9.2,
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

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Use cases for Air Quality API

Show a live air-quality badge and US AQI category on a weather, running or cycling app for the user's exact location.
Alert asthma or allergy patients when PM2.5 or ozone near their home crosses a threshold, using per-pollutant timestamps to skip stale readings.
Enrich property listings, travel pages or city guides with the nearest monitoring station and its latest readings.
Build a dashboard of government and research-grade stations within a radius, with distance and reference-monitor flags for each.

Air Quality API endpoints

Every endpoint with its parameters and a real example response.

OpenAPI definition Postman workspace

GETData Sources
GETNearby Stations
GETNearest Readings
GETPollutant Parameters
GETStation Detail

GETData Sources

https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/sources

This endpoint takes no parameters.

Example request

curl "https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/sources" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Example response

{
  "ok": true,
  "sources": [
    {
      "name": "OpenAQ v3 API",
      "url": "https://docs.openaq.org",
      "provides": "Latest readings and metadata for government and research-grade monitoring stations worldwide.",
      "licensing": "Per originating agency — US Public Domain, CC0, CC BY, ODC-BY, UK OGL and similar attribution licences; non-commercial licences are excluded."
    }
  ],
  "attribution": {
    "source": "OpenAQ — government and research-grade air-quality monitoring stations",
    "source_url": "https://openaq.org",
    "note": "Each station carries the licence of its originating agency (see the station's license/attribution fields); stations whose licence forbids commercial use are excluded. Readings are edge-cached for up to 15 minutes; readings older than 24 hours are flagged stale."
  },
  "aqi": {
    "scale": "US EPA AQI",
    "url": "https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/",
    "pollutants": [
      "pm25",
      "pm10"
    ]
  },
  "cache_seconds": 900,
  "stale_after_hours": 24
}

GETNearby Stations

https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/stations

Query parameters

Parameter	Example
lat	40.71	Required
limit	5	Optional
lon	-74.0	Required
radius	10	Optional

Example request

curl "https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/stations?lat=40.71&limit=5&lon=-74.0&radius=10" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Example response

{
  "ok": true,
  "latitude": 40.71,
  "longitude": -74,
  "radius_km": 10,
  "count": 5,
  "stations": [
    {
      "id": 662,
      "name": "Division Street",
      "locality": null,
      "country": "US",
      "latitude": 40.7142,
      "longitude": -73.995,
      "distance_km": 0.6,
      "provider": "AirNow",
      "reference_monitor": true,
      "mobile": false,
      "timezone": "America/New_York",
      "parameters": [
        "pm25"
      ],
      "last_updated": "2020-02-19T16:00:00Z",
      "active": false,
      "license": "US Public Domain",
      "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
    },
    {
…

Show full response

{
  "ok": true,
  "latitude": 40.71,
  "longitude": -74,
  "radius_km": 10,
  "count": 5,
  "stations": [
    {
      "id": 662,
      "name": "Division Street",
      "locality": null,
      "country": "US",
      "latitude": 40.7142,
      "longitude": -73.995,
      "distance_km": 0.6,
      "provider": "AirNow",
      "reference_monitor": true,
      "mobile": false,
      "timezone": "America/New_York",
      "parameters": [
        "pm25"
      ],
      "last_updated": "2020-02-19T16:00:00Z",
      "active": false,
      "license": "US Public Domain",
      "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
    },
    {
      "id": 642,
      "name": "PS 19",
      "locality": null,
      "country": "US",
      "latitude": 40.73,
      "longitude": -73.984459,
      "distance_km": 2.6,
      "provider": "AirNow",
      "reference_monitor": true,
      "mobile": false,
      "timezone": "America/New_York",
      "parameters": [
        "pm25"
      ],
      "last_updated": "2017-12-18T10:00:00Z",
      "active": false,
      "license": "US Public Domain",
      "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
    },
    {
      "id": 664,
      "name": "Bklyn - PS274",
      "locality": "New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island",
      "country": "US",
      "latitude": 40.694401,
      "longitude": -73.928596,
      "distance_km": 6.3,
      "provider": "AirNow",
      "reference_monitor": true,
      "mobile": false,
      "timezone": "America/New_York",
      "parameters": [
        "pm25"
      ],
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
      "active": true,
      "license": "US Public Domain",
      "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
    },
    {
      "id": 648,
      "name": "Bklyn - PS 314",
      "locality": "KINGS",
      "country": "US",
      "latitude": 40.641819,
      "longitude": -74.018707,
      "distance_km": 7.7,
      "provider": "AirNow",
      "reference_monitor": true,
      "mobile": false,
      "timezone": "America/New_York",
      "parameters": [
        "pm25"
      ],
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
      "active": true,
      "license": "US Public Domain",
      "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
    },
    {
      "id": 628,
      "name": "Maspeth",
      "locality": "New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island",
      "country": "US",
      "latitude": 40.7269,
      "longitude": -73.8933,
      "distance_km": 9.2,
      "provider": "AirNow",
      "reference_monitor": true,
      "mobile": false,
      "timezone": "America/New_York",
      "parameters": [
        "pm25"
      ],
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
      "active": true,
      "license": "US Public Domain",
      "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
    }
  ]
}

GETNearest Readings

https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/air-quality

Query parameters

Parameter	Example
lat	40.71	Required
lon	-74.0	Required
radius	25	Optional

Example request

curl "https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/air-quality?lat=40.71&lon=-74.0&radius=25" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Example response

{
  "ok": true,
  "latitude": 40.71,
  "longitude": -74,
  "station": {
    "id": 664,
    "name": "Bklyn - PS274",
    "locality": "New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island",
    "country": "US",
    "latitude": 40.694401,
    "longitude": -73.928596,
    "distance_km": 6.3,
    "provider": "AirNow",
    "reference_monitor": true,
    "mobile": false,
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "parameters": [
      "pm25"
    ],
    "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
    "active": true,
    "license": "US Public Domain",
    "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
  },
  "stale": false,
  "aqi_us": {
    "value": 33,
    "category": "Good",
…

Show full response

{
  "ok": true,
  "latitude": 40.71,
  "longitude": -74,
  "station": {
    "id": 664,
    "name": "Bklyn - PS274",
    "locality": "New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island",
    "country": "US",
    "latitude": 40.694401,
    "longitude": -73.928596,
    "distance_km": 6.3,
    "provider": "AirNow",
    "reference_monitor": true,
    "mobile": false,
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "parameters": [
      "pm25"
    ],
    "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
    "active": true,
    "license": "US Public Domain",
    "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization"
  },
  "stale": false,
  "aqi_us": {
    "value": 33,
    "category": "Good",
    "dominant_pollutant": "pm25",
    "by_pollutant": {
      "pm25": 33
    },
    "note": "US EPA AQI computed from the latest particulate readings using the 24-hour breakpoints (2024 PM2.5 scale); gases are not included."
  },
  "measurements": [
    {
      "parameter": "pm25",
      "display_name": "PM2.5",
      "value": 5.9,
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
      "age_hours": 0.6,
      "stale": false
    }
  ],
  "nearby_stations": [
    {
      "id": 662,
      "name": "Division Street",
      "distance_km": 0.6,
      "last_updated": "2020-02-19T16:00:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": 642,
      "name": "PS 19",
      "distance_km": 2.6,
      "last_updated": "2017-12-18T10:00:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": 648,
      "name": "Bklyn - PS 314",
      "distance_km": 7.7,
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id": 628,
      "name": "Maspeth",
      "distance_km": 9.2,
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

GETPollutant Parameters

https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/parameters

This endpoint takes no parameters.

Example request

curl "https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/parameters" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Example response

{
  "ok": true,
  "count": 44,
  "parameters": [
    {
      "code": "bc",
      "display_name": "BC",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_370",
      "display_name": "BC 370nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 375nm "
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_375",
      "display_name": "BC 375nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 375nm "
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_470",
      "display_name": "BC 470nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 470nm "
    },
…

Show full response

{
  "ok": true,
  "count": 44,
  "parameters": [
    {
      "code": "bc",
      "display_name": "BC",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_370",
      "display_name": "BC 370nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 375nm "
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_375",
      "display_name": "BC 375nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 375nm "
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_470",
      "display_name": "BC 470nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 470nm "
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_528",
      "display_name": "BC 528nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 528nm "
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_625",
      "display_name": "BC 625nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 625nm "
    },
    {
      "code": "bc_880",
      "display_name": "BC 880nm",
      "unit": "ng/m³",
      "description": "Black Carbon mass concentration 880nm "
    },
    {
      "code": "ch4",
      "display_name": "CH₄",
      "unit": "ppm",
      "description": "Methane concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "co",
      "display_name": "CO mass",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Carbon Monoxide mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "co",
      "display_name": "CO",
      "unit": "ppm",
      "description": "Carbon Monoxide concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "co",
      "display_name": "CO",
      "unit": "ppb",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "co2",
      "display_name": "CO₂",
      "unit": "ppm",
      "description": "Carbon Dioxide concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "humidity",
      "display_name": "H",
      "unit": "%",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "display_name": "NO",
      "unit": "ppb",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "display_name": "NO",
      "unit": "ppm",
      "description": "Nitrogen Monoxide concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "display_name": "NO mass",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Nitrogen Monoxide mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "no2",
      "display_name": "NO₂ mass",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Nitrogen Dioxide mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "no2",
      "display_name": "NO₂",
      "unit": "ppm",
      "description": "Nitrogen Dioxide concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "no2",
      "display_name": "NO₂",
      "unit": "ppb",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "nox",
      "display_name": "NOX",
      "unit": "ppb",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "nox",
      "display_name": "NOx mass",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Nitrogen Oxides mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "nox",
      "display_name": "NOx",
      "unit": "ppm",
      "description": "Nitrogen Oxides concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "o3",
      "display_name": "O₃ mass",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Ozone mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "o3",
      "display_name": "O₃",
      "unit": "ppm",
      "description": "Ozone concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "o3",
      "display_name": "O₃",
      "unit": "ppb",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "pm1",
      "display_name": "PM1",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Particulate matter less than 1 micrometer in diameter mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "pm10",
      "display_name": "PM10",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "pm25",
      "display_name": "PM2.5",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "pm4",
      "display_name": "PM4.0",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Particulate matter less than 4 micrometers in diameter mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "pressure",
      "display_name": "Atmospheric pressure",
      "unit": "hpa",
      "description": "Atmospheric or barometric pressure"
    },
    {
      "code": "pressure",
      "display_name": "Pressure",
      "unit": "mb",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "relativehumidity",
      "display_name": "RH",
      "unit": "%",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "so2",
      "display_name": "SO₂ mass",
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "description": "Sulfur Dioxide mass concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "so2",
      "display_name": "SO₂",
      "unit": "ppm",
      "description": "Sulfur Dioxide concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "so2",
      "display_name": "SO₂",
      "unit": "ppb",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "temperature",
      "display_name": "Temperature (C)",
      "unit": "c",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "temperature",
      "display_name": "Temperature (F)",
      "unit": "f",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "ufp",
      "display_name": "UFP count",
      "unit": "particles/cm³",
      "description": "Ultrafine Particles count concentration"
    },
    {
      "code": "um003",
      "display_name": "PM0.3 count",
      "unit": "particles/cm³",
      "description": null
    },
    {
      "code": "um010",
      "display_name": "PM1 count",
      "unit": "particles/cm³",
      "description": "PM1 count"
    },
    {
      "code": "um025",
      "display_name": "PM2.5 count",
      "unit": "particles/cm³",
      "description": "PM2.5 count"
    },
    {
      "code": "um100",
      "display_name": "PM10 count",
      "unit": "particles/cm³",
      "description": "PM10 count"
    },
    {
      "code": "wind_direction",
      "display_name": "Wind direction",
      "unit": "deg",
      "description": "Direction that the wind originates from"
    },
    {
      "code": "wind_speed",
      "display_name": "Wind speed",
      "unit": "m/s",
      "description": "Average wind speed in meters per second"
    }
  ]
}

GETStation Detail

https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/stations/{id}

Path parameters

Parameter	Example
id	664	Required

Example request

curl "https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/stations/664" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Example response

{
  "ok": true,
  "station": {
    "id": 664,
    "name": "Bklyn - PS274",
    "locality": "New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island",
    "country": "US",
    "latitude": 40.694401,
    "longitude": -73.928596,
    "distance_km": null,
    "provider": "AirNow",
    "reference_monitor": true,
    "mobile": false,
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "parameters": [
      "pm25"
    ],
    "last_updated": "2026-09-12T05:00:00Z",
    "active": true,
    "license": "US Public Domain",
    "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization",
    "first_reading": "2016-03-10T08:00:00Z"
  },
  "stale": false,
  "aqi_us": {
    "value": 33,
    "category": "Good",
    "dominant_pollutant": "pm25",
…

Show full response

{
  "ok": true,
  "station": {
    "id": 664,
    "name": "Bklyn - PS274",
    "locality": "New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island",
    "country": "US",
    "latitude": 40.694401,
    "longitude": -73.928596,
    "distance_km": null,
    "provider": "AirNow",
    "reference_monitor": true,
    "mobile": false,
    "timezone": "America/New_York",
    "parameters": [
      "pm25"
    ],
    "last_updated": "2026-09-12T05:00:00Z",
    "active": true,
    "license": "US Public Domain",
    "attribution": "Unknown Governmental Organization",
    "first_reading": "2016-03-10T08:00:00Z"
  },
  "stale": false,
  "aqi_us": {
    "value": 33,
    "category": "Good",
    "dominant_pollutant": "pm25",
    "by_pollutant": {
      "pm25": 33
    },
    "note": "US EPA AQI computed from the latest particulate readings using the 24-hour breakpoints (2024 PM2.5 scale); gases are not included."
  },
  "measurements": [
    {
      "parameter": "pm25",
      "display_name": "PM2.5",
      "value": 5.9,
      "unit": "µg/m³",
      "last_updated": "2026-09-12T06:00:00Z",
      "age_hours": 0.6,
      "stale": false
    }
  ]
}

Where the data comes from

Source: OpenAQ aggregation of government and research-grade monitoring stations (AirNow, EEA, DEFRA and others), each under its own open licence. Non-commercial stations are excluded.
Freshness: Live readings, edge-cached for 15 minutes. Per-pollutant timestamps and a stale flag on every response.

One install. Every endpoint.

No proprietary SDKs needed. Any HTTP client works. Pick your language and paste.

3languages

5endpoints

RESTarchitecture

1key for all APIs

Fully typed responses — auto-completion in your IDE
Tracks the API in lockstep — new endpoints land same day
One key works across 125+ APIs on the platform

import axios from 'axios';

const { data } = await axios.get(
  'https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/sources',
  { headers: { 'X-Api-Key': process.env.API_KEY } }
);

Air Quality API · X-Api-Key

Explore the endpoints

Browse request parameters and inspect live example responses.

Available Endpoints

Request Parameters

API URL

Headers

X-Api-Key

Target:

Client:

import axios from 'axios';

const url = 'https://api-air-quality.dataandapis.com/v1/sources';
const { data } = await axios.get(url, {
  headers: { 'X-Api-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY' }
});