OpenAQ is an environmental tech nonprofit that aggregates and harmonizes open air quality data from across the globe onto an open-source, open-access data platform so that anyone concerned about air quality has unfettered access to the data they need to analyze, communicate, and advocate for clean air. The first to aggregate disparate ground-level ambient air quality data on a centralized open-source platform, OpenAQ started with real-time and historical data from reference-grade government monitors in 2015 and began ingesting air sensor data in 2021, remaining the largest open-source air quality data platform in the world. Anyone can explore data via OpenAQ Explorer, an interactive web application, or access the AQI Hub to navigate air quality indexes worldwide. By providing foundational data infrastructure, OpenAQ fills a basic data-access gap and connects users across sectors and geographies to support an international learning environment.
Why It Matters: OpenAQ empowers a global community of changemakers to solve air inequality—the unequal access to clean air—by ensuring that air quality data is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable rather than fragmented across incompatible systems and jurisdictions. By providing universal access to harmonized data, OpenAQ enables individuals and organizations to fully maximize the uses and ultimate impact of air quality information for analysis, communication, and advocacy. The platform demonstrates that foundational data infrastructure is a prerequisite for environmental action, making it possible for communities worldwide to understand what they’re breathing and demand accountability for clean air.
