We are thrilled to announce that our version 3 API is fully stable and generally available. The new API version is accompanied by a new documentation site built from the ground up to help you make the most of the air quality data hosted by OpenAQ. Check out the new documentation at docs.openaq.org.
The OpenAQ API version 3 brings a lot of exciting new functionality and access to new data resources. New features of note:
- Averaged measurement values including hourly, daily and yearly averages.
- A bounding box query parameter, providing an alternative to the existing point and radius method. This enhancement allows users to specify a geographical area by defining the corners of a rectangular region using latitude and longitude coordinates.
- Licenses resource, which provides details on the legal terms associated with the data sources.
- Manufacturers and instrument resources, which provide details on instruments and manufacturers and options to filter results by manufacturer and instrument.
- Coverage information to summarize data completeness metrics, such as expected and observed counts, allowing users to quickly assess data coverage for aggregated measurement values.
- Descriptive statistics including minimum, maximum, average and quartile values, enabling users to understand the distribution of aggregated measurement values.
With the release of version 3, we are also announcing that we will fully deprecate the OpenAQ API version 1 and 2 endpoints on January 31, 2025. Until that date, both versions will remain fully supported, but we encourage all developers and partners to begin transitioning to version 3 as soon as possible to take advantage of the latest improvements. After January 31, 2025 all version 1 and 2 endpoints will return an HTTP 410 Gone error response code and no longer return data.
We are excited to provide you improved access and functionality with the version 3 API. We also appreciate that this change will require some work on your end to update existing systems and migrate to version 3. To assist with this transition, we encourage you to join the OpenAQ Slack community, where you can seek help, share insights, and support others in the migration. Our team and community members are there to provide guidance and ensure a smooth transition for everyone.
