AirNow

Air quality readings, pollutant readings and air quality forecasts

Current and forecast air quality for reporting areas in the United States and covered cities in Canada and Mexico.

Get air quality

Get air quality

Get AirNow current air quality, reported pollutant readings, and today’s and tomorrow’s forecasts for a US city or ZIP code, or a covered Canadian or Mexican city. A forecast AQI or an entire forecast may be unavailable even when a category or current reading is shown.

Your information

Location

City and state, a five-digit US ZIP code, or a covered Canadian or Mexican city, for example Denver, CO or 94103.

1 credit per completed run

The same inputs also work from your code or an AI assistant. See For developers.

Example results

Current air quality

Air quality index42

Good

Main pollutantPM10

Denver-Boulder, CO

Observed Sep 29, 5:00 AM

Air quality is good. Enjoy outdoor activities.

Forecast

Today

Date: Sep 29, 2026
Category: Good

Tomorrow

Date: Sep 30, 2026

Pollutant readings

Pollutant	AQI	Category
Ozone	26	Good
PM2.5	16	Good
PM10	42	Good

View on AirNow

About the AirNow tool

AirNow returns current air quality, pollutant readings, and today’s and tomorrow’s forecasts.

Get air quality needs a US city and state or five-digit ZIP code, or a covered Canadian or Mexican city.

Built from airnow.gov and geocode.arcgis.com. Last checked Sep 29, 2026.

Actions

Get air quality

1 credit

Uses geocode.arcgis.com.

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
Location`location`	Text	Required	City and state, a five-digit US ZIP code, or a covered Canadian or Mexican city, for example Denver, CO or 94103.Example: Denver, CO

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Aqi`aqi`	Number	Example: 42
Category`category`	Text	Example: Good
Airnow URL`airnow_url`	Text	Example: https://www.airnow.gov/?reportingArea=Denver-Boulder&stateCode=CO
Pollutants`pollutants`	List
Aqi`pollutants[].aqi`	Number	Example: 26
Category`pollutants[].category`	Text	Example: Good
Pollutant`pollutants[].pollutant`	Text	Example: Ozone
Health Advice`health_advice`	Text	Example: Air quality is good. Enjoy outdoor activities.
Main Pollutant`main_pollutant`	Text	Example: PM10
Reporting Area`reporting_area`	Text	Example: Denver-Boulder, CO
Observation Time`observation_time`	Text	Example: 2026-09-29T05:00:00-06:00
Today Forecast Aqi`today_forecast_aqi`	Number	Example: 53
Forecast Discussion`forecast_discussion`	Text
Today Forecast Date`today_forecast_date`	Text	Example: 2026-09-29
Tomorrow Forecast Aqi`tomorrow_forecast_aqi`	Number
Tomorrow Forecast Date`tomorrow_forecast_date`	Text	Example: 2026-09-30
Today Forecast Category`today_forecast_category`	Text	Example: Good
Tomorrow Forecast Category`tomorrow_forecast_category`	Text	Example: Moderate

Example result

For Location: Denver, CO

JSON

{
  "aqi": 42,
  "category": "Good",
  "airnow_url": "https://www.airnow.gov/?reportingArea=Denver-Boulder&stateCode=CO",
  "pollutants": [
    {
      "aqi": 26,
      "category": "Good",
      "pollutant": "Ozone"
    },
    {
      "aqi": 16,
      "category": "Good",
      "pollutant": "PM2.5"
    },
    {
      "aqi": 42,
      "category": "Good",
      "pollutant": "PM10"
    }
  ],
  "health_advice": "Air quality is good. Enjoy outdoor activities.",
  "main_pollutant": "PM10",
  "reporting_area": "Denver-Boulder, CO",
  "observation_time": "2026-09-29T05:00:00-06:00",
  "today_forecast_aqi": null,
  "forecast_discussion": null,
  "today_forecast_date": "2026-09-29",
  "tomorrow_forecast_aqi": null,
  "tomorrow_forecast_date": "2026-09-30",
  "today_forecast_category": "Good",
  "tomorrow_forecast_category": null
}

For developers

Call it from your code with one request. Change the values in input to run it on new data. To get an API key, open Developers at the bottom of Studio, turn on Developer mode and go to API keys.

cURL

curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@airnow",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_air_quality",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "location": "Denver, CO"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'

What you can do with it

Check reported air quality for a location
Compare pollutant readings across locations
Review today’s and tomorrow’s air quality forecasts
Share health advice with local teams

Questions about AirNow

Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

Can I call this AirNow tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

Do I need a AirNow account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from airnow.gov when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Sep 29, 2026.