Frequently Asked Questions

I’d like to use the data on OpenAQ. Can I do that? What are examples of ways to use the data on OpenAQ?

Yes! The data on OpenAQ are provided for free (within rate limits). Before using OpenAQ, read the terms of use. We require responsible platform and data usage.

Data on OpenAQ are used for many purposes, including scientific research, journalism, and advocacy for clean air solutions. Find examples on our Use Cases page and Medium blog site.

How can I access and/or download the data in OpenAQ?

We offer a few different ways to access air quality data, depending on your technical setup. You can find detailed setup guides and code snippets right here in our documentation:

• For Programmatic Access: Head over to our Quick start guide to learn how to authenticate and query our REST API. If you use language wrappers, we have dedicated integration guides for both our Python SDK docs and R Client documentation.

• Explore the dataset: If you prefer browsing via a graphical UI without writing code, check out our OpenAQ Explorer. We also provide a Getting Started guide to walk you through how to use the web app to search the database and export CSVs directly from your browser.

• For Bulk Data Downloads: If you need to access large amounts of historical data, view our AWS S3 Quick Start Guide here in the docs.

I am having trouble using OpenAQ. How can I troubleshoot?

• Explore the rest of this documentation: You can find dedicated guides and references for our specific tools here:
  • API Reference: https://docs.openaq.org/
  • Python SDK: https://python.openaq.org/
  • R package: https://openaq.github.io/openaq-r/
• Get real-time help: Join our Slack community to ask questions and chat with other users.

We also offer training sessions for groups. Contact us if you would like to host an OpenAQ training for your research group or organization (due to limited capacity, we prioritize larger, mission-aligned projects).

What are the licensing terms for using the data on OpenAQ?

OpenAQ aggregates air quality data from government agencies and other sources worldwide. The data on our platform come with different licensing terms (terms that define how the data can be used), depending on the original source. The OpenAQ API provides information including the relevant data license for monitoring locations. Read more about accessing license information on the API here.

• Review license terms: You are responsible for reviewing and complying with the licensing terms of the original data owner. Many require attribution under Creative Commons licenses, open government licenses, or custom terms.

• Attribute original sources: When required by the data license, you must acknowledge the original source(s) of any data you use. We provide attribution information through our web interface and APIs to help you meet these requirements.

• Attribute OpenAQ: You must also credit OpenAQ as your access point for the data when using our services.

Important

While we only aggregate data that we believe has been madeavailable for public redistribution and use, we cannot guarantee that all data is free from third-party claims. You are solely responsible for ensuring your use complies with applicable laws and any third-party terms based on the provided license.

We encourage users to attribute all data sources, even when not explicitly required, as a best practice for transparency and data integrity.

Why isn’t a specific air quality monitoring station showing up on OpenAQ when I can see it on other platforms?

This may be due to one or a combination of reasons:

• We may not be ingesting the data yet. We may not know about the data, or if we are aware of the data, we may not have developed the tooling to ingest that data.
• The data do not meet the criteria for ingestion. OpenAQ only ingests openly-licensed data (e.g., CC0, CC BY 4.0) that report air quality measurements in concentration values (i.e., not air quality indices) and are complete with geographical coordinates and datetimes. Acceptable data frequency is between 10 minutes and 24 hours. We only ingest stationary, ground-level data and do not ingest satellite data or airborne data. We prioritize PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, NO_x, NO, O₃, SO₂, CO, and BC data and associated temperature and relative humidity data that come with the source.
• There may be a technical issue blocking data flow from the data source to OpenAQ. If you suspect this (e.g., you see historical data but no current data), submit an issue on GitHub. Include the location ID, and, if the issue extends to other locations from the same data source, share that information too.
• The data source may have stopped sharing its data. There are multiple reasons why a source may have stopped sharing data: the devices stopped working; they no longer share their data under an open license; or the project may have ended. If you suspect this to be the case, please contact the data source.

If you know of a data source that meets our criteria for ingestion and would like to recommend that we share the data on OpenAQ, let us know. Check out our roadmap for our areas of priority such as areas of the world where people are most impacted by pollution and there is little to no access to data (e.g., low- and middle-income countries, vulnerable areas). We are especially keen to share government-produced data and data filling gaps in geographies with high air pollution.

I am looking at a location, but I am not seeing data for certain periods of time. Why?

Similar to some of the reasons mentioned above, there might be technical issues from the upstream data provider or we might have experienced technical issues that prevented ingestion during certain periods.

How do I report a security vulnerability in OpenAQ? Are there bug bounties?

OpenAQ follows the proposed security.txt standard, which helps direct researchers to the right security contact information and policies. Find our security.txt file on any covered domain, or visit our complete security policy at openaq.org/security for full reporting requirements, responsible disclosure guidelines, data protection rules, and prohibited activities.

If you’ve found a security issue with the OpenAQ platform or tools, we appreciate your responsible disclosure.

• How to Report: Include the URL/IP address, vulnerability type, reproduction steps, and any screenshots or logs in your report.

• Bug Bounties: OpenAQ does not offer monetary rewards or bug bounties for vulnerability reports.

• Response Time: You’ll receive confirmation within 5 working days, and we’ll assess your report within 10 working days.

Can I call the OpenAQ API directly in my mobile app or web application?

Direct API calls from client-side applications (mobile apps, web applications) are strongly discouraged and will likely fail due to:

• Rate Limiting: Client applications with multiple users will quickly exceed our API rate limits, leading to blocked requests. Repeatedly breaking rate limits will result in your account being blocked for violating our terms of use.

• CORS Policies: We do not allow cross-origin requests from browsers, so lient-side JavaScript requests to our API are not possible. If you attempt to fetch OpenAQ data from JavaScript in a web browser, you will see an error like:

  Access to fetch at 'https://api.openaq.org/...' from origin
  'https://yoursite.com' has been blocked by CORS policy: No
  'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header is present on the
  requested resource.

A common solution is to set up your own backend server to proxy data requests from the OpenAQ API, then have your client application request data from your server instead. This approach respects our rate limits, avoids CORS issues, and can provide better control over caching and limiting requests.