Changelog

Source: NEWS.md

airnow 0.2.0

AirNow retires the web services behind get_airnow_conditions() and get_airnow_forecast() on 2026-09-30. This release moves the package to the replacement services released in June 2026.

New functions

• get_airnow_observations() returns current readings by ZIP code, coordinates, or reporting area code, with a derived utc_datetime column.
• get_airnow_forecasts() returns the forecasts currently issued for a location.
• get_airnow_forecast_history() returns past forecasts for a reporting area and date range. It replaces get_airnow_forecast(date = ).
• get_airnow_reporting_area() finds the reporting area that serves a location. ZIP codes whose area has no forecast issued today fall back to AirNow’s bundled ZIP crosswalk.
• get_airnow_monitors() is the new name for get_airnow_area().
• get_airnow_key() and set_airnow_key() replace the token-named credential helpers.

New dataset

• airnow_areas lists every AirNow reporting area with its code, location, time zone, and agency.

Deprecations

• get_airnow_conditions(), get_airnow_forecast(), get_airnow_area(), get_airnow_token(), and set_airnow_token() still work but warn. The first two call the new services and reshape the result to their old columns. Row counts and AQI values can differ from the retired services because AirNow changed its lookup methodology; LocalTimeZone is now correct where it was wrong before; distance is ignored; and get_airnow_forecast(date = ) returns forecasts valid on that date only. Dated calls for ZIPs in AirNow’s bundled crosswalk no longer depend on a forecast being issued today. The additive area argument provides an exact fallback for coordinates and ZIPs absent from the crosswalk while preserving the legacy output columns.

Fixes

• Requests use HTTPS. Previously the API key made its first hop over plain HTTP before a redirect.
• API error messages are reported instead of a malformed data frame. Requests that match no data return a zero-row tibble.
• aqi_color() and aqi_descriptor() accept values above 500 (treated as Hazardous) and NA, and warn instead of erroring on negative values. Real AirNow data exceeds 500 during smoke events.
• Unrecognized pollutant or category names now warn instead of silently becoming NA.
• Derived UTC observation times account for half- and quarter-hour time zones.
• get_airnow_forecast_history() warns when asked for dates in the future. AirNow serves these forecasts only through today, so such requests return no rows; get_airnow_forecasts() has the upcoming forecasts.

airnow 0.1.1

CRAN release: 2026-03-01

Fix issue with documentation - thanks @GeraldineGomez! (#6)

airnow 0.1.0

CRAN release: 2022-10-31

• Initial release