Data Sources¶

Aeolus supports multiple air quality data sources. This page provides an overview of each.

UK Regulatory Networks¶

These networks are operated by UK government agencies and provide high-quality, ratified data.

AURN (Automatic Urban and Rural Network)¶

The UK's main regulatory monitoring network with ~150 sites across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Coverage: UK-wide
Data quality: qa_tier = reference_full_qc once ratified, reference_provisional before (per site, pollutant and date)
API key: Not required
Pollutants: NO2, O3, PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO

import aeolus
from datetime import datetime

data = aeolus.download(
    sources="AURN",
    sites=["MY1", "KC1"],
    start_date=datetime(2024, 1, 1),
    end_date=datetime(2024, 1, 31)
)

SAQN (Scottish Air Quality Network)¶

Additional monitoring sites in Scotland, complementing AURN coverage.

Coverage: Scotland
Data quality: qa_tier = reference_full_qc once ratified, reference_provisional before (qa_code = Ratified/Provisional)
API key: Not required

WAQN (Welsh Air Quality Network)¶

Welsh monitoring network.

Coverage: Wales
Data quality: qa_tier = reference_full_qc once ratified, reference_provisional before (qa_code = Ratified/Provisional)
API key: Not required

NI (Northern Ireland Network)¶

Northern Ireland monitoring network.

Coverage: Northern Ireland
Data quality: qa_tier = reference_full_qc once ratified, reference_provisional before (qa_code = Ratified/Provisional)
API key: Not required

AQE (Air Quality England)¶

Local authority monitoring sites across England.

Coverage: England (local authorities)
Data quality: qa_tier = reference_full_qc once ratified, reference_provisional before (qa_code = Ratified/Provisional)
API key: Not required

LAQN (London Air Quality Network)¶

London's main regulatory monitoring network, managed by ERG at Imperial College London. ~250 sites across all London boroughs.

Coverage: Greater London
Data quality: no per-row flag in the londonair files — qa_code null, qa_tier = unknown
API key: Not required

LMAM (Locally-Managed Automatic Monitoring)¶

DEFRA's umbrella feed for automatic stations operated by local authorities and regional networks outside the national strategy (AURN, SAQN, WAQN, NI, AQE). 196 active sites across six provider networks: Sussex, Kent, AQ Data Manager, North Lincolnshire, Leicester, Hampshire.

Coverage: UK (non-AURN/AQE local authority networks)
Data quality: no per-row flag in the DEFRA feed — qa_code null, qa_tier = unknown, ratification_stage = supplied
API key: Not required

Global Portals¶

Portals aggregate data from multiple sources worldwide. Due to their scale (hundreds of thousands of sites), you search for sites first, then download.

OpenAQ¶

A global open data platform aggregating air quality data from government agencies, research institutions, and other sources worldwide.

Coverage: 100+ countries
Data quality: Varies by source
API key: Required
Documentation: OpenAQ

PurpleAir¶

Global network of 30,000+ low-cost air quality sensors, popular with researchers and citizen scientists.

Coverage: Global (primarily USA, Europe, Australia)
Data quality: qa_tier = lcs_factory_only (channel-agreement label in qa_code; disagreeing or saturated channels are flagged)
API key: Required
Documentation: PurpleAir

Networks¶

Networks are discrete monitoring systems with a known, manageable set of sites.

Breathe London¶

A dense network of low-cost sensors across London, providing high spatial resolution data.

Coverage: Greater London
Data quality: qa_tier = lcs_calibrated where the API reports status P, else unknown
API key: Required
Documentation: Breathe London

AirQo¶

Low-cost sensor network monitoring air quality in African cities.

Coverage: Uganda, Kenya, and expanding
Data quality: calibrated low-cost sensors; qa_tier = unknown until AirQo's calibrated/raw flag is wired
API key: Required
Documentation: AirQo

EPA AirNow¶

Real-time air quality data from the US EPA's AirNow system.

Coverage: USA, Canada, Mexico
Data quality: qa_code = Provisional, qa_tier = reference_provisional (real-time, never ratified in AirNow)
API key: Required
History: ~45 days (for long-term data, use EPA AQS via OpenAQ)
Documentation: EPA AirNow

Sensor.Community¶

Global citizen science network (formerly luftdaten.info) with 35,000+ low-cost sensors.

Coverage: Global (primarily Europe)
Data quality: no per-row flag — qa_code null, qa_tier = unknown (citizen science)
API key: Not required
Documentation: Sensor.Community

EEA (European Environment Agency)¶

Pan-European monitoring data from national reference networks, aggregated by the European Environment Agency. 7,000+ stations across 40+ countries.

Coverage: Europe (EU/EEA member states)
Data quality: qa_tier = reference_full_qc (verified archive) or reference_provisional (up-to-date feed); Airbase rows (2002–2012) are unknown
API key: Not required

Sonitus (Smart Dublin)¶

Air quality and noise monitoring network in Dublin, Ireland. Measures NO2, SO2, CO, NO, O3, PM1, PM2.5, PM10, and TSP at 15-minute resolution.

Coverage: Dublin, Ireland
Data quality: no per-row flag — qa_code null, qa_tier = unknown (low-cost multi-parameter, plus a few EPA reference monitors)
API key: Not required

Comparing Sources¶

Source	Type	Coverage	`qa_tier`	Real-time	Historical
AURN	Network	UK	reference_full_qc / reference_provisional	Yes	1973+
SAQN	Network	Scotland	reference_full_qc / reference_provisional	Yes	2000s+
WAQN	Network	Wales	reference_full_qc / reference_provisional	Yes	2000s+
NI	Network	N. Ireland	reference_full_qc / reference_provisional	Yes	2000s+
AQE	Network	England	reference_full_qc / reference_provisional	Yes	2000s+
LAQN	Network	London	unknown (no flag published)	Yes	1990s+
LMAM	Network	UK (council/regional)	unknown (no flag published)	Yes	2000s+
EEA	Network	Europe	reference_full_qc / reference_provisional (Airbase unknown)	No	2002+ (Airbase to 2012, verified archive from 2013)
OpenAQ	Portal	Global	unknown (provider mix)	Yes	2015+
PurpleAir	Portal	Global	lcs_factory_only / flagged (met rows unknown)	Yes	2017+
Breathe London	Network	London	lcs_calibrated	Yes	2019+
AirQo	Network	Africa	unknown (until wired)	Yes	2020+
EPA AirNow	Network	N. America	reference_provisional	Yes	~45 days
Sensor.Community	Network	Global	unknown (no flag published)	Yes	2015+
Sonitus	Network	Dublin, Ireland	unknown (no flag published)	Yes	2020+