AirGradient Forum

(Suggestion) Integrate with Airnow Firemap

Software integrations
#1

Hi AirGradient team,

With the last few years in my area being filled with days of wild fire smoke, I started using AirGradient monitors along with a few public resources to view the air quality around me and the surrounding region. One resource I use is the US EPA’s AirNow Fire Map at fire.airnow.gov. This map aggregates data from the EPA regarding Smoke and Fire detection data from satellites, and also shows a number of EPA-operated as well as lower cost monitor data. The low cost monitor data seems to be coming mostly from PurpleAir.

I submitted feedback to the EPA about the map, recently and received a reply back that in the coming months, the EPA is planning to release documentation on how to allow third party data providers to integrate their information into the map. It would be cool to see AirGradient become another data provider for this map, so I can also see my monitor data on there.

3 Likes
#2

I think this would be fantastic!

1 Like
#3

Hi @Smith6612,

Thanks for the feedback and suggestion! Up until now, Airnow has not allowed third-party providers (outside of PurpleAir) to submit data to the map. However, if they’re planning on opening the platform a bit, this is something we can definitely look into. I will bring this up with the team!

3 Likes
#4

Thank you! Looking forward to hopefully seeing the data availability expanded!

1 Like
#5

Thank you, Ethan. I’m Tony Pedretti, Air Gradient devices owner and similar to Smith6612 I’m advocating to feed our data to other popular repositories. I opened a case with EPA Public Support (U.S. EPA runs AirNow) a couple weeks ago and I received the following feedback to my case CS0083406. At the end, the contact states they (U.S. EPA) wants someone from OpenAQ or AirGradient to reach out to them. Who would be the appropriate person to do that?

CS0083406 - Accepting OpenAQ air quality data
EPA Public Support public_support@epa.gov Nov 24, 2025, 8:58 AM

On the fire and smoke map, there is a process for sensor networks to qualify and then submit their data for inclusion (on the fire and smoke map).

To date, only PurpleAir and Clarity have been through the qualification process.

I see that OpenAQ is more of an aggregator (like AirNow) than it is a sensor network. Clarity, for example, apparently submits its data to OpenAQ as well as AirNow. Our application process is really directed towards sensor networks-- the EPA is very serious about vetting the quality of specific devices before including them on our systems. Keep in mind, sensors require a lot of algorithmic correction to aid accuracy (temperature, humidity, etc.) plus often need further adjustments to make them read consistently with Federal Equivalency Monitors, which may or may not be a goal of OpenAQ. And in any case, it is something AirNow would want to look closely at on a network-to-network basis.

As an aggregator, OpenAQ doesn’t really fit this model, but were they to approach us, we could probably talk to them about what WOULD work. And we would certainly be able to work with any sensor networks that submit to OpenAQ on the process for submitting to AirNow as well.

thanks,

–rob wildermann
AirNow System Coordinator