Getting started
In this tutorial, we will learn how to install and setup the OpenAQ Python SDK and query a location from the OpenAQ API.
Install OpenAQ Python
With Python and pip installed on our system we can install the OpenAQ Python SDK via pip.
Register for an OpenAQ API Key
Visit explore.openaq.org/register.
Warning
For this tutorial we will use a placeholder API Key: 'replace-with-a-valid-openaq-api-key'. Do not use this API key in your code, it will not work. Replace the placeholder value with the key you receive after signing up.
The Code
We will now walkthrough the following code to access a single monitoring location from the OpenAQ API.
from openaq import OpenAQ
client = OpenAQ(api_key='replace-with-a-valid-openaq-api-key')
location = client.locations.get(2178)
client.close()
print(location)
Step 1: Import the OpenAQ class from openaq
from openaq import OpenAQ
client = OpenAQ(api_key='replace-with-a-valid-openaq-api-key')
location = client.locations.get(2178)
client.close()
print(location)
OpenAQ is a Python class that provides access to communicate with API resources.
Step 2: Instantiate the client
from openaq import OpenAQ
client = OpenAQ(api_key='replace-with-a-valid-openaq-api-key')
location = client.locations.get(2178)
client.close()
print(location)
Here the client variable will be an "instance" of the class OpenAQ.
This will be the main variable we will use to interact with API.
Step 3: Call the locations get with a locations ID of 2178
from openaq import OpenAQ
client = OpenAQ(api_key='replace-with-a-valid-openaq-api-key')
location = client.locations.get(2178)
client.close()
print(location)
Within the client we access the locations resource and call the get method to retrieve a single location by its ID
Step 4: Close the client connection
from openaq import OpenAQ
client = OpenAQ(api_key='replace-with-a-valid-openaq-api-key')
location = client.locations.get(2178)
client.close()
print(location)
We close the client to ensure connections are properly cleaned up.
Step 5: Print the results
from openaq import OpenAQ
client = OpenAQ(api_key='replace-with-a-valid-openaq-api-key')
location = client.locations.get(2178)
client.close()
print(location)
We print the results to our console to see the data from the requested location.
The output should look something like this:
LocationsResponse(meta=Meta(name='openaq-api', website='/', page=1, limit=100, found=1), results=[Location(id=2178, name='Del Norte', locality='Albuquerque', timezone='America/Denver', country=CountryBase(id=13, code='US', name='United States of America'), owner=OwnerBase(id=4, name='Unknown Governmental Organization'), provider=ProviderBase(id=119, name='AirNow'), is_mobile=False, is_monitor=True, instruments=[InstrumentBase(id=2, name='Government Monitor')], sensors=[SensorBase(id=3917, name='o3 ppm', parameter=ParameterBase(id=10, name='o3', units='ppm', display_name='O₃')), SensorBase(id=3916, name='no2 ppm', parameter=ParameterBase(id=7, name='no2', units='ppm', display_name='NO₂')), SensorBase(id=25227, name='co ppm', parameter=ParameterBase(id=8, name='co', units='ppm', display_name='CO')), SensorBase(id=3919, name='pm10 µg/m³', parameter=ParameterBase(id=1, name='pm10', units='µg/m³', display_name='PM10')), SensorBase(id=4272226, name='no ppm', parameter=ParameterBase(id=35, name='no', units='ppm', display_name='NO')), SensorBase(id=4272103, name='nox ppm', parameter=ParameterBase(id=19840, name='nox', units='ppm', display_name='NOx')), SensorBase(id=3918, name='so2 ppm', parameter=ParameterBase(id=9, name='so2', units='ppm', display_name='SO₂')), SensorBase(id=3920, name='pm25 µg/m³', parameter=ParameterBase(id=2, name='pm25', units='µg/m³', display_name='PM2.5'))], coordinates=Coordinates(latitude=35.1353, longitude=-106.584702), bounds=[-106.584702, 35.1353, -106.584702, 35.1353], distance=None, datetime_first=Datetime(utc='2016-03-06T19:00:00+00:00', local='2016-03-06T12:00:00-07:00'), datetime_last=Datetime(utc='2023-10-31T13:00:00+00:00', local='2023-10-31T07:00:00-06:00'))])
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Conclusion
You have now successfully requested and downloaded data from the OpenAQ API with the OpenAQ Python SDK. To learn more check out the how-to guides and reference documentation.