OpenAQ: A Platform to Aggregate and Freely Share Global Air Quality Data

Abstract:

Thousands of ground-based air quality monitors around the world publicly publish real-time air quality data; however, researchers and the public do not have access to this information in the ways most useful to them. Often, air quality data are posted on obscure websites showing only current values, are programmatically inaccessible, and/or are in inconsistent data formats across sites. Yet, historical and programmatic access to such a global dataset would be transformative to several scientific fields, from epidemiology to low-cost sensor technologies to estimates of ground-level aerosol by satellite retrievals.

To increase accessibility and standardize this disparate dataset, we have built OpenAQ, an innovative, open platform created by a group of scientists and open data programmers. The source code for the platform is viewable at github.com/openaq. Currently, we are aggregating, storing, and making publicly available real-time air quality data (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, and O₃) via an Application Program Interface (API). We will present the OpenAQ platform, which currently has the following specific capabilities:

• A continuous ingest mechanism for some of the most polluted cities, generalizable to more sources
• An API providing data-querying, including ability to filter by location, measurement type and value and date, as well as custom sort options
• A generalized, chart-based visualization tool to explore data accessible via the API

At this stage, we are seeking wider participation and input from multiple research communities in expanding our data retrieval sites, standardizing our protocols, receiving feedback on quality issues, and creating tools that can be built on top of this open platform.