QWeather API

Overview

QWeather is a provider of weather data services, offering APIs and SDKs for integrating real-time weather conditions, forecasts, and environmental data into various applications. Established in 2017, the platform is designed to support developers in building solutions that require global weather information, including mobile applications, IoT devices, and web-based weather widgets. QWeather's core products include its Weather API, a suite of Weather SDKs, and broader Weather Data Services, catering to a range of development needs.

The QWeather API provides access to various data points such as current weather, multi-day forecasts, air quality, climate statistics, and severe weather alerts. It supports global locations, allowing developers to retrieve localized weather information. The platform emphasizes data accuracy and timely updates, which are critical for applications where precise environmental conditions are a factor. For example, integrating weather data into logistics applications can help optimize delivery routes based on current and forecasted conditions, similar to how Google Maps Platform's Routes API can factor in real-time traffic.

Developers can access QWeather's services through RESTful APIs, which return data in JSON format, a common standard for web services as described by W3C recommendations for data formats. To streamline integration, QWeather offers SDKs for popular programming languages including JavaScript, Python, Java, PHP, and Android. These SDKs abstract much of the API interaction, allowing developers to focus on application logic rather than HTTP request construction and response parsing. The platform also provides a developer console for managing API keys, monitoring usage, and accessing comprehensive documentation and API references.

QWeather is suitable for a diverse set of use cases. Mobile app developers can integrate location-based weather forecasts to enhance user experience. IoT applications, such as smart home systems or agricultural sensors, can utilize real-time environmental data to automate actions or provide critical insights. Websites can embed customizable weather widgets to display local conditions or forecasts for specific regions. The platform's pricing model includes a free Developer Plan, offering up to 1,000 requests per day, making it accessible for prototyping and small-scale projects before scaling to paid tiers for higher usage volumes.

Key features

• Real-time Weather Data: Provides current weather conditions, including temperature, humidity, wind speed, precipitation, and atmospheric pressure for global locations via the Weather API.
• Multi-day Forecasts: Offers 3-day, 7-day, and 15-day weather forecasts, including daily maximum/minimum temperatures, weather conditions, and probability of precipitation.
• Air Quality Data: Delivers real-time air quality index (AQI) and pollutant concentrations, along with air quality forecasts for various cities.
• Environmental Data: Access to various environmental data points, such as UV index, visibility, and atmospheric pressure.
• Severe Weather Alerts: Provides access to real-time severe weather warnings and alerts issued by meteorological agencies.
• Climate Data: Offers historical climate data and statistics for various locations, useful for analytical applications.
• Global Coverage: Supports weather data retrieval for locations worldwide, enabling international application development.
• Multiple SDKs: Provides official SDKs for JavaScript, Python, Java, PHP, and Android to simplify API integration into different environments.
• Developer Console: A web-based console for managing API keys, monitoring API usage, and accessing detailed documentation.

Pricing

As of 2026-05-28, QWeather offers a free developer plan and several paid tiers. The free Developer Plan allows up to 1,000 requests per day. Paid plans begin with the Basic Plan at ¥99/month (approximately $13.70 USD), offering 50,000 requests per day. Higher tiers provide increased request limits and additional features. For detailed and up-to-date pricing information, refer to the QWeather pricing page.

Common integrations

• Mobile Applications (Android/iOS): Integrate real-time weather and forecasts into native mobile apps using the Android SDK or by consuming the RESTful API.
• Web Applications: Embed weather widgets or display dynamic weather content on websites using the JavaScript SDK or direct API calls.
• IoT Devices: Connect smart home devices, agricultural sensors, or industrial monitoring systems to QWeather for environmental data, as outlined in the QWeather documentation.
• Data Analytics Platforms: Ingest weather data into business intelligence tools for analysis, correlating weather patterns with business metrics.
• Emergency Alert Systems: Utilize severe weather alerts to trigger automated notifications or responses in emergency management platforms.

Alternatives

• OpenWeatherMap: Offers a global weather API with current weather, forecasts, and historical data, known for its extensive free tier.
• AccuWeather: Provides commercial weather APIs with a focus on accuracy and detailed forecasts, often used by media and enterprise clients.
• Tomorrow.io: Features a weather intelligence platform with hyper-local, minute-by-minute forecasts and historical data, targeting businesses that require precise weather insights.

Getting started

To get started with QWeather, you typically sign up for an account, obtain an API key, and then make requests to the API endpoints. The following Python example demonstrates how to retrieve current weather data for a specific location using the QWeather API.

import requests

# Replace with your actual QWeather API key and desired location ID
API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
LOCATION_ID = "101010100"  # Example: Beijing, China. Find location IDs in QWeather docs.

# API endpoint for current weather data
url = f"https://api.qweather.com/v7/weather/now?location={LOCATION_ID}&key={API_KEY}"

try:
    response = requests.get(url)
    response.raise_for_status()  # Raise an exception for HTTP errors
    data = response.json()

    if data and data.get("code") == "200":
        now_weather = data.get("now")
        if now_weather:
            print(f"Current Weather for Location ID {LOCATION_ID}:")
            print(f"  Temperature: {now_weather.get('temp')}°C")
            print(f"  Conditions: {now_weather.get('text')}")
            print(f"  Wind Direction: {now_weather.get('windDir')}")
            print(f"  Wind Speed: {now_weather.get('windSpeed')} km/h")
            print(f"  Humidity: {now_weather.get('humidity')}%")
        else:
            print("No current weather data found in response.")
    else:
        print(f"Error fetching weather data: {data.get('code')} - {data.get('msg')}")

except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
    print(f"Request failed: {e}")
except ValueError as e:
    print(f"Failed to parse JSON response: {e}")

This Python script makes an HTTP GET request to the QWeather current weather endpoint. It parses the JSON response to extract and display key weather metrics such as temperature, conditions, wind, and humidity. Before running, ensure you replace "YOUR_API_KEY" with your actual QWeather API key and "101010100" with the appropriate location ID for your desired city, which can be found using QWeather's City Lookup API or documentation.