This fall, OpenAQ conducted a survey to better understand the needs of our global community.
The responses we received from around the globe do not represent every voice in the OpenAQ community but do provide key insights to inform our work.
Who took the survey?
The majority of respondents indicated that the geographical scope and impact of their work are global or in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the respondents associated their occupation with atmospheric science, followed by education and public health/medicine.
63% of respondents identified as male, 29% of respondents identified as female, and less than 1% identified as non-binary. More than half of respondents are in the 25–39 age range and 27% are in the 40–59 range.
How do people learn about OpenAQ?
Personal communications via a colleague or friend is the top way that respondents learned about OpenAQ. OpenAQ’s website, presence in conferences, and presence on LinkedIn are other ways that respondents learned about OpenAQ. This highlights the power of human connections, even in the data world!
Data Access
The top reasons respondents use OpenAQ include:
- The data are easy to access.
- I support the ethos of open data / open-source software.
- I support OpenAQ’s efforts to make data universally accessible.
The majority of the respondents reported using OpenAQ Explorer as the primary way they access data in OpenAQ. Meanwhile, 36% of the respondents use the API. Check out the newly revamped documentation for our API: https://docs.openaq.org/docs and watch out for more new tools in the coming year!
Data Usage and Interest
For 2024, more respondents reported using air sensor data from OpenAQ as compared to reference monitor data, as compared to last year where an equal percentage of respondents answered that they access air sensor data and reference grade data. This year, 93% of the respondents reported they use air sensor data and 55% reported that they use reference monitor data. OpenAQ will continue to increase data coverage for both. On the other hand, fewer users (45%) reported accessing near real-time data than those who access historical data (52%). This points to the breadth of use of the data in OpenAQ. The majority of the users access the data in OpenAQ to conduct scientific research or analysis. Other top uses include advocating for more air quality monitoring and building visuals, maps and/or GIS models.
The top pollutants accessed in OpenAQ are PM2.5, NO2, O3 and PM10, which remain to be the top pollutants accessed in OpenAQ. We recognize that PM10 data from certain air sensors may be unreliable (see our FAQ), but its presence in the platform does allow for deeper investigation by researchers.
Many respondents highlight how OpenAQ supports their research activities, from data storage and analysis to informing their research findings. Some users complement the ground-level air quality data obtained from OpenAQ with other types of data, such as satellite data, as well as accessing ground-level data from additional data sources not hosted on OpenAQ. OpenAQ fills an important role in data provision by providing the data closest to what is reported by the instruments; users can opt to apply their own calibration algorithms into the data downloaded from the platform.
Some users seek additional pollutant types (other than what are currently offered); an increase in the amount of data that can be downloaded; more training, documentation and outreach; implementing quality assurance of air sensor data against reference monitor data; additional descriptive data, and thorough data provenance.
We address these in our FAQ. See the entries under the following questions:
- What pollutants are available on OpenAQ?
- Do you provide training on how to use your platform?
- How accurate are data on the OpenAQ platform?
- Where can I find more data, tools and resources on air quality?
What do people appreciate about using the OpenAQ Platform?
Respondents consistently emphasize the importance of open data sharing and the value of OpenAQ in providing accessible air quality information and many highlight the platform’s crucial role in:
- Data Accessibility and Sharing: OpenAQ is praised for making air quality data readily available, facilitating research, and empowering communities.
- Data Storage and Analysis: The platform provides valuable storage for researchers with limited resources and enables data-driven analysis and decision-making.
- Public Awareness: OpenAQ contributes significantly to raising awareness about air quality issues and encouraging action towards cleaner air.
- User-Friendliness: Respondents generally find the platform easy to use and appreciate its user-friendly interface.
Respondents recognized OpenAQ’s contribution to public health and environmental sustainability by making critical air quality data available to the public. There is also widespread appreciation for the work of the OpenAQ team and their commitment to improving air quality globally.
In addition, open-ended comments such as the following recharged our sense of purpose:
“I work with low-cost sensors. Since I don’t have the budget and capacity to store my data, I share it to OpenAQ. This hits two things- awareness about local air quality and data storage for my future investigations.”
“You are doing awesome work making air quality data transparent and more accessible by communities that need it the most.”
“As an air quality researcher utilizing OpenAQ data, I appreciate the platform’s accessibility and the wide range of data it offers.”
“Keep doing what you are doing, OpenAQ is a fantastic force for good.”
What obstacles does the community face in fighting air inequality?
When asked what barriers they face in the grander scheme of air quality issues, respondents pointed to three main issues:
- Lack of budget, government support and/or data infrastructure,
- Lack of training or technical knowledge, and
- Inaccessibility of quality data and/or metadata.
These are opportunities for the greater air quality community and philanthropic bodies to allocate funding to air quality monitoring and upskilling. Clean Air Fund reports that of all philanthropic funding, less than 0.1% of philanthropic funding goes to air quality (Clean Air Fund, 2024. Philanthropic Foundation Funding for Clean Air: Advancing climate action, health and social justice). Increasing this funding and investing it in government air quality monitoring could positively affect one billion people worldwide.
We thank all of you who shared your voice. The survey responses overwhelmingly express strong support and appreciation for OpenAQ. You confirmed that we are on the right track in equipping users of all abilities with more tools to access, understand and use the OpenAQ platform. To fill your needs, we are also working to increase reliability, provide more tools in more programming languages, provide more training, expand metadata and data coverage, and more!
In addition, together with you, we are advocating for more air quality monitoring and greater data transparency.
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If you have any questions or clarifications about the results or have air quality data to share with us, please email us at info@openaq.org and/or join our active conversations on Slack: https://link.openaq.org/joinslack
