What this API does
The Open-Meteo Historical API is a free service that provides developers access to a comprehensive library of global historical weather data. This data comes from advanced reanalysis models and includes over 80 weather variables such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and soil moisture. Developers can receive this information at hourly intervals back to 1940, facilitating various analytical tasks in climate research, agriculture, and environmental studies.
How it works
Developers interact with the API through simple HTTP GET requests. The API allows for flexible querying using date ranges and geographic coordinates formatted in ISO8601. The API responds with data in JSON format, ensuring easy parsing in various programming environments.
For example, typical usage may involve requesting data with endpoints structured like '/historical?latitude=35.68&longitude=139.76&start=2020-01-01&end=2020-12-31'. This retrieves historical weather data for specified locations over defined time frames.
Authentication
No authentication is required to use the Open-Meteo API. Developers can make requests directly without needing an API key or signup, allowing for immediate integration.
Example usage
/historical?latitude=35.68&longitude=139.76&start=2020-01-01&end=2020-12-31- Fetches historical weather for Tokyo for the year 2020./historical?latitude=40.71&longitude=-74.01&start=2021-05-01&end=2021-05-31- Retrieves weather data for New York City for May 2021.
Limits
As of now, there are no documented usage limits for the Open-Meteo API, allowing developers to make up to 10,000 requests per day without restrictions on access for non-commercial use.
Ideal use cases
- Analyzing long-term weather trends for climate research.
- Supporting agricultural decision-making with historical weather insights.
- Building applications that require accurate past weather data for various analyses.
- Conducting environmental studies using detailed climate metrics.