AirNow API
★ Only Publicly Available OpenAPI DocumentData EnrichmentAddress ValidationapiKey6 EndpointsREST
For Agents
Look up real-time U.S. air quality readings, AQI forecasts, and historical observations by zip code or geographic coordinates from the EPA's AirNow network.
Use for: I want to check the current air quality in a zip code, Get the AQI forecast for tomorrow in San Francisco, Retrieve historical PM2.5 readings for the last week, Find the nearest air quality monitoring station to a coordinate
Not supported: Does not handle weather forecasts, pollen counts, or international air quality outside U.S. partner networks — use for U.S. AQI and pollutant readings only.
Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for AirNow API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. AirNow is the U.S. EPA's source for real-time and forecast air quality data covering Air Quality Index (AQI) observations across the United States. The API exposes current AQI readings, daily forecasts, and historical observations queryable by zip code, latitude/longitude, or monitoring site. Coverage spans pollutants including ozone, PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, and SO2, with data sourced from federal, state, local, and tribal monitoring networks.
Install Jentic One Beta
Connect the AirNow API to your agent
Jentic One is a self-hosted execution layer for AI agents. It lets your agent call the AirNow API, or any other public or private API you need. You set the rules, the agent never sees your credentials, and every call is logged.
Two steps, two machines. Install the instance in a safe environment, then register your agent from wherever it runs.
1
Step 1: Jentic One Host machine
# On the machine that will host your Jentic One instance:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh2
Step 2: Agent machine
# On the machine where your agent runs (keep this separate from the instance):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jentic/jentic-one/main/tools/install.sh | sh
jentic register # connects your agent to your Jentic One instanceJentic One is in public beta. The setup above keeps your agent separate from the instance, which is what you want before using real credentials: an agent running as the same OS user as Jentic One can read its stored keys directly. Just evaluating? A single local install is fine to start. See the secure deployment guide for the tiers.
Capabilities
What an agent can do with AirNow API.
Fetch current AQI observations for a zip code via /aq/observation/zipCode/current
Retrieve current readings for any latitude/longitude pair within the AirNow coverage area
Pull next-day AQI forecasts for ozone and PM2.5 by location
Look up readings from a specific monitoring site by ID
Query historical AQI observations by zip code over a date range
Filter responses by distance radius around a coordinate to find the nearest reporting station
Use Cases
Patterns agents use AirNow API for, with concrete tasks.
★ Real-Time Air Quality Lookup
Surface live Air Quality Index readings for any U.S. zip code or coordinate so apps can warn users about unhealthy conditions before outdoor activity. AirNow aggregates observations from EPA, NOAA, NPS, and tribal sensors into a single AQI scale covering ozone, PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, and SO2. A single GET to /aq/observation/zipCode/current returns the dominant pollutant, AQI value, and category label in under a second.
Get the current AQI observation for zip code 94103 and return the dominant pollutant and AQI category
Air Quality Forecast Notifications
Alert users a day in advance when forecast AQI is expected to exceed a threshold. The /aq/forecast/zipCode and /aq/forecast/latLong endpoints return next-day predicted AQI for ozone and PM2.5 with category bands such as Moderate, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, and Unhealthy. Useful for asthma management apps, school activity planning, and wildfire smoke advisories.
Fetch the next-day AQI forecast for latitude 37.78, longitude -122.42 and trigger an alert if any pollutant exceeds AQI 100
Historical Air Quality Analysis
Pull historical AQI observations over a date range to back-test exposure models, build air quality dashboards, or correlate pollution with health outcomes. The /aq/data endpoint supports time-bounded queries by zip code or bounding box and returns hourly or daily aggregated readings. Coverage extends across all U.S. states and territories with monitoring stations.
Retrieve daily PM2.5 observations for zip code 90001 from 2026-01-01 to 2026-03-31 and compute the monthly average
Agent Air Quality Lookup via Jentic
Agents discover AirNow operations through a natural-language Jentic search and execute structured GET calls without managing the API_KEY query parameter directly. Jentic stores the AirNow API key in its credential vault so agents receive scoped tokens at runtime. Typical end-to-end search-load-execute time for a current observation lookup is under 200 ms.
Search Jentic for 'check current air quality by zip code', load the AirNow operation schema, and execute it for zip code 10001
Key Endpoints
6 endpoints — jentic publishes the only available openapi specification for airnow api, keeping it validated and agent-ready.
METHOD
PATH
DESCRIPTION
GET
/aq/observation/zipCode/current
Current AQI observations by zip code
GET
/aq/observation/latLong/current
Current observations by latitude/longitude
GET
/aq/observation/monitoringSite/current
Current observations from a specific monitoring site
GET
/aq/forecast/zipCode
Next-day AQI forecast by zip code
GET
/aq/forecast/latLong
Next-day AQI forecast by coordinate
GET
/aq/data
Historical AQI observations by zip code
GET
/aq/observation/zipCode/current
Current AQI observations by zip code
GET
/aq/observation/latLong/current
Current observations by latitude/longitude
GET
/aq/observation/monitoringSite/current
Current observations from a specific monitoring site
GET
/aq/forecast/zipCode
Next-day AQI forecast by zip code
GET
/aq/forecast/latLong
Next-day AQI forecast by coordinate
GET
/aq/data
Historical AQI observations by zip code
Why Jentic?
Three things that make agents converge on Jentic-routed access.
Credential isolation
The AirNow API_KEY is stored encrypted in the Jentic vault. Agents receive scoped runtime tokens and the key is appended to the query string at execution time rather than entering the agent context.
Intent-based discovery
Agents search by intent (e.g., 'get current air quality by zip code') and Jentic returns the matching AirNow GET operation with its parameter schema, including zipCode, distance, and date.
Time to first call
Direct AirNow integration: 1-2 days for key registration, request signing, and schema discovery. Through Jentic: under 30 minutes — search, load schema, execute.
Related APIs
Alternatives and complements available in the Jentic catalogue.
FAQs
Specific to using AirNow API through Jentic.
Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for AirNow API?
AirNow does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call AirNow API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started at https://app.jentic.com/sign-up.
What authentication does the AirNow API use?
AirNow uses an API key passed as the API_KEY query parameter on every request. Through Jentic, the key is stored encrypted in the credential vault and injected at execution time so agents never see the raw value. Request a free key at https://docs.airnowapi.org/.
Can I get air quality forecasts with the AirNow API?
Yes. The /aq/forecast/zipCode and /aq/forecast/latLong endpoints return next-day AQI forecasts for ozone and PM2.5 with category labels such as Moderate or Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. Pass a date parameter to target a specific forecast day.
What are the rate limits for the AirNow API?
AirNow imposes a default limit of 500 requests per hour per API key. The limit is documented at docs.airnowapi.org and is enforced server-side; clients receive HTTP 429 when exceeded. For higher volume, contact AirNow support via the docs site.
How do I look up current air quality by zip code through Jentic?
Search Jentic for 'check current air quality by zip code', load the AirNow /aq/observation/zipCode/current operation, and execute with the zipCode parameter. Install with pip install jentic and use the async client pattern: search, load, execute.
Does the AirNow API cover countries outside the United States?
No. AirNow data is limited to U.S. states, territories, and selected partner sites in Canada and Mexico that report into the network. For global coverage, pair with an alternative such as OpenWeatherMap or AQICN.
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