Air quality hourly averages at every EPA monitoring station, Victoria, latest year
liveEPA Victoria's AirWatch hourly averages for all monitoring stations, read from the AllData sheet of the yearly workbook. Each row is one station, parameter and hour, with the value, its unit, the validation flag and the analysis method. The workbook's per-station sheets repeat the same values in wide form and are not read. The entry follows the newest yearly workbook, so each new year arrives as a new version.
Also called: EPA AirWatch hourly averages, Victoria air pollution data by station, Melbourne PM2.5 and ozone hourly readings, EPA Victoria validated air quality data.
- What does each row hold?
- One hourly average of one measure at one EPA monitoring station, with the hour in AEST, local time and UTC, the station and its coordinates, the value and its unit, a validation flag and the method used. The measures include particles (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, visibility and weather readings such as temperature and wind.
- Which year does it cover?
- EPA releases one workbook per calendar year once the year's data is validated, and this entry follows the newest. The first version holds 2025 and the first hours of 1 January 2026. Earlier years are on the publisher's portal as separate workbooks, back to 1979, and each later year is kept here as a new version.
- Why are some values negative?
- Gas analysers can read slightly below zero at very low concentrations. EPA publishes these validated values as measured, and they are kept as published.
Made for agents
Connect your AI agent
Any agent that connects to publicdata.au/mcp can find this dataset, read its 17 fields, count and filter across all 884,554 rows and diff its versions. Every answer names the version and carries EPA Victoria's attribution. No key.
Then ask it: What does Air quality hourly averages at every EPA monitoring station, Victoria, latest year hold, and what changed in the newest version?
claude mcp add --transport http publicdata https://publicdata.au/mcpOne command. No key, no account, no sign-up.
Settings, then Connectors, then Add custom connector, and paste https://publicdata.au/mcp.
On the web and in the desktop app.
https://publicdata.au/mcpStreamable HTTP. Cursor, VS Code or any client that connects to a remote MCP server.
Using https://publicdata.au/llms.txt, how many people died on Queensland roads in 2025, by month?For an assistant that reads the web and has no connector.
A dashboard over every row. Click to filter, add panels, share a link or embed a frame.
Query APIFilter and count from a URLaggregate?group=location_name&metric=avg.value¶meter_name=eq.PM2.5
Average PM2.5 (ug/m3) by station where measure is PM2.5: 7.91 Melbourne CBD, 7.74 Traralgon, 7.65 Brighton, 7.31 Alphington.
Download it as CSV, Excel, JSON and 6 more formats
Pick a format and a version. CSV is picked first because it opens in the tools most offices have. The URL is yours to keep. A dated version never changes.
In your own tools
Use it in Excel, R, Python and more
Excel and Power BI read the CSV from its address and refresh from it. The R and Python packages take any dataset on this site by its slug, so a new dataset needs no new release. The DuckDB file attaches read-only over HTTPS, and a query reads only the blocks it touches.
The dated URL in the code never changes. https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/latest/ redirects to the newest version.
https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/latest/data.csvIn Excel choose Data, then From Web, and paste this address. Excel keeps it, so Refresh All reads the newest version. A sheet holds about a million rows; past that, load the query to the Data Model.
https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/latest/data.csvIn Power BI Desktop choose Get data, then Web, paste this address and choose Anonymous when asked how to sign in. A scheduled refresh reads the same address, so the report follows each new version.
library(publicdataau)
df <- pd_read("vic-air-quality-hourly")
pd_attribution(df)install.packages("publicdataau"). pd_read() fetches the version's Parquet file; pd_rows() and pd_aggregate() ask the query API instead, and pd_connect() attaches the DuckDB file.
import publicdata_au as pd_au
df = pd_au.read("vic-air-quality-hourly")
df.attrs["publicdata"]["attribution"]pip install "publicdata-au[pandas]". read() fetches the version's Parquet file; rows() and aggregate() ask the query API, and connect() attaches the DuckDB file.
INSTALL httpfs; LOAD httpfs;
ATTACH 'https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/v/2026-10-03/data.duckdb' AS vic_air_quality_hourly (READ_ONLY);
SELECT parameter_name, count(*) FROM vic_air_quality_hourly.records GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 2 DESC;The DuckDB file attaches read-only over HTTPS and only the blocks a query touches are read. Parquet works the same way: FROM read_parquet(url).
const res = await fetch("https://publicdata.au/api/v1/datasets/vic-air-quality-hourly/aggregate?group=location_name&metric=avg.value¶meter_name=eq.PM2.5");
const { rows, publicdata } = await res.json();
console.log(rows, publicdata.attribution);The query API answers a page on any site as well as Node, with no key. It returns the rows and the attribution the licence asks for.
What is in it
Column names are made snake_case and the publisher's original header is kept beside each one. Blank cells are null. Nothing is added, removed, ranked or summarised.
| Field | Type | Publisher's header | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| datetime_aest | datetime | datetime_AEST | |
| datetime_local | datetime | datetime_local | |
| date_hour_start_utc_id | integer | date_hour_start_utc_id | The UTC hour as YYYYMMDDHH, the publisher's identifier for the hour. |
| sample_point_id | integer | sample_point_id | |
| location_id | integer | location_id | |
| location_name | string | location_name | |
| latitude | number | latitude | |
| longitude | number | longitude | |
| value | number | value | The hourly average in the unit given in unit_of_measure. |
| validation_flag | string | validation_flag | |
| parameter_name | string | parameter_name | A short code such as PM2.5, O3, NO2 or DBT. |
| parameter_method_name | string | parameter_method_name | |
| parameter_description | string | parameter_description | |
| analysis_method_name | string | analysis_method_name | |
| unit_of_measure | string | unit_of_measure | |
| method_quality | string | method_quality | |
| datetime_utc | datetime | datetime_UTC |
Download this table as a data dictionary (Excel), or read it as a Frictionless Table Schema at schema.json.
A sample of 10 rows
The ten highest hourly PM2.5 readings at any station, highest first. A blank cell is shown as null.
| datetime_aest | datetime_local | date_hour_start_utc_id | sample_point_id | location_id | location_name | latitude | longitude | value | validation_flag | parameter_name | parameter_method_name | parameter_description | analysis_method_name | unit_of_measure | method_quality | datetime_utc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05-08T16:00:00 | 2025-05-08T16:00:00 | 2025050806 | 10011 | 743 | Traralgon | -38.1942825 | 146.531464 | 139.368 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-05-08T06:00:00 |
| 2025-06-15T04:00:00 | 2025-06-15T04:00:00 | 2025061418 | 10377 | 869 | Macleod | -37.722477 | 145.0576 | 133.078 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-06-14T18:00:00 |
| 2025-10-26T15:00:00 | 2025-10-26T16:00:00 | 2025102605 | 10001 | 720 | Alphington | -37.7784081 | 145.0306 | 129.068 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-10-26T05:00:00 |
| 2025-04-20T11:00:00 | 2025-04-20T11:00:00 | 2025042001 | 10011 | 743 | Traralgon | -38.1942825 | 146.531464 | 99.097 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-04-20T01:00:00 |
| 2025-02-05T16:00:00 | 2025-02-05T17:00:00 | 2025020506 | 10007 | 941 | Brighton | -37.9135475 | 144.998 | 93.605 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-02-05T06:00:00 |
| 2025-04-10T23:00:00 | 2025-04-10T23:00:00 | 2025041013 | 10169 | 929 | Melton | -37.7064552 | 144.5669 | 93.44 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-04-10T13:00:00 |
| 2025-10-16T09:00:00 | 2025-10-16T10:00:00 | 2025101523 | 10107 | 849 | Geelong South | -38.17356 | 144.3703 | 93.18 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-10-15T23:00:00 |
| 2025-04-20T10:00:00 | 2025-04-20T10:00:00 | 2025042000 | 10011 | 743 | Traralgon | -38.1942825 | 146.531464 | 91.847 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-04-20T00:00:00 |
| 2025-04-03T07:00:00 | 2025-04-03T08:00:00 | 2025040221 | 10169 | 929 | Melton | -37.7064552 | 144.5669 | 87.76 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-04-02T21:00:00 |
| 2025-07-06T22:00:00 | 2025-07-06T22:00:00 | 2025070612 | 10011 | 743 | Traralgon | -38.1942825 | 146.531464 | 85.77 | Y | PM2.5 | SBPM25 | Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less | BAM corrected to standard temperature and pressure | ug/m3 | Equivalence Method | 2025-07-06T12:00:00 |
The first row as JSON
As it appears in data.json.
GET https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/latest/data.json
{
"datetime_aest": "2025-01-01T00:00:00",
"datetime_local": "2025-01-01T01:00:00",
"date_hour_start_utc_id": 2024123114,
"sample_point_id": 10136,
"location_id": 802,
"location_name": "Mooroolbark",
"latitude": -37.7749672,
"longitude": 145.3285,
"value": 11.296,
"validation_flag": "Y",
"parameter_name": "PM10",
"parameter_method_name": "PM10",
"parameter_description": "Particulate Matter of 10 microns or less",
"analysis_method_name": "Tapered element oscillating microbalance",
"unit_of_measure": "ug/m3",
"method_quality": "Equivalence Method",
"datetime_utc": "2024-12-31T14:00:00"
}
Query it without downloading
The query API returns only the rows you ask for, as JSON, NDJSON or CSV, from the same typed rows as the files. It needs no key. Build a query here and run it, then copy the URL or the code into your own work.
How filters work
Each filter is field=operator.value in the query string, and every filter must match. A number or date field compares as a number or date, and a text field compares as text. Values are case-sensitive except with ilike. Prefix not. to negate a filter, as not.eq.value.
| Operator | What it matches |
|---|---|
| eq.value | Equal to the value. |
| neq.value | Not equal to the value. A blank cell does not match. |
| gt.value | Greater than the value. |
| gte.value | Greater than or equal to the value. |
| lt.value | Less than the value. |
| lte.value | Less than or equal to the value. |
| like.*text* | Matches a pattern where * stands for any run of characters. Case-sensitive. |
| ilike.*text* | The same as like, ignoring case. |
| in.(a,b,c) | Equal to any value in the list. A value cannot contain a comma. |
| is.null | Blank in the source, or suppressed by the publisher. |
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
| select | Fields to return, comma-separated. Every field when absent. |
| order | field.asc or field.desc, comma-separated. The publisher's row order when absent. |
| limit | Rows per page, 1 to 10,000. 100 when absent. |
| offset | Rows to skip. The next URL in each answer sets it for you. |
| group | On aggregate, fields to group by, comma-separated. |
| metric | On aggregate, count, sum.field, avg.field, min.field or max.field, comma-separated. count when absent. |
| format | json, ndjson or csv. JSON carries the provenance header, and the others carry it in response headers. |
Without a version the API answers from the newest loaded version, and that answer changes when the publisher releases again. Put versions/<date>/ before rows or aggregate for an answer that never changes. /api/v1/datasets/<slug>/versions lists the loaded versions. The 1 newest version is loaded; versions lists them.
The API allows 60 requests in 10 seconds from one address. Above that it answers 429 for 10 seconds with a Retry-After header, a RateLimit-Policy header and a JSON body that gives the limit. Every API answer carries the same RateLimit-Policy. A client should wait the Retry-After seconds, or read the files, which have no limit. openapi.json describes this dataset's query paths for client generators and agents.
https://publicdata.au/mcp is a remote MCP server over Streamable HTTP with the same tools, defined in the same place, so a tool added to the pages is added here too. It needs no key and no account. The row tools are held to the query API's limit of 60 queries in 10 seconds from one address, and each call is two queries because it also counts the matching rows. Add it to Claude Code with claude mcp add --transport http publicdata https://publicdata.au/mcp, add the URL in Claude as a custom connector, or give it to any client that connects to remote MCP servers. Each queryable dataset is also a resource at https://publicdata.au/d/<slug>/fields.json, which lists its fields with their types, the publisher's descriptions, their ranges and the values they hold, so an agent can read a dataset's shape before it writes a query.
Smaller files
The same rows split by a field, one JSON file each. Each file carries the same provenance header.
By parameter_name (15 files)
by/parameter_name/index.json lists every file with its row count.
What changed
One version for every release the publisher has made since this site started following the dataset. The date is the day the file changed on the portal.
- 2026-10-03 884,554 rows17 fieldsxlsxc3981abdffce
versions.json · changes.json · history.tar.zst (3.8 MB, every version's Parquet and manifest)
Questions
How do I download Air quality hourly averages at every EPA monitoring station, Victoria as a CSV file?
Open https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/latest/data.csv. It redirects to the newest dated version, which is https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/v/2026-10-03/data.csv today. The same path serves Excel, JSON, Parquet, SQLite, DuckDB, NDJSON, Arrow. A dated URL never changes, so use it when the file must stay the same.
Can I open Air quality hourly averages at every EPA monitoring station, Victoria in Excel?
Yes. https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/v/2026-10-03/data.xlsx is a workbook with the 884,554 rows on a records sheet, the field list on a second sheet and the provenance on a third. The CSV also opens in Excel. https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/v/2026-10-03/data.csv.gz is the CSV at about a tenth of the size.
What years does Air quality hourly averages at every EPA monitoring station, Victoria cover?
The current version covers the years since 2025. Each release from EPA Victoria becomes a new dated version here, and earlier versions stay online.
How often is Air quality hourly averages at every EPA monitoring station, Victoria updated?
EPA Victoria releases it yearly. This site checks the portal every week and adds a dated version when the file changes.
Can I use Air quality hourly averages at every EPA monitoring station, Victoria commercially?
Yes. CC BY 4.0 allows commercial use, redistribution and derived works as long as the attribution is kept. The attribution string is in this page's side column and inside every file.
Is this the official source for Air quality hourly averages at every EPA monitoring station, Victoria?
No. The publisher is Environment Protection Authority Victoria, and its page is https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/epa-air-watch-all-sites-air-quality-hourly-averages-yearly. This site republishes the publisher's file without changing its content. The original sits beside every version as source.xlsx with its SHA-256, so the two can be compared.
How do I get only the rows for one parameter name?
Every version has one JSON file per value of parameter_name, 15 files in the current version, listed with row counts at https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/v/2026-10-03/by/parameter_name/index.json. For example https://publicdata.au/d/vic-air-quality-hourly/v/2026-10-03/by/parameter_name/dbt.json holds the 96,867 rows where parameter_name is DBT.
What this site did to the data. Cells were typed, headers were renamed and the encoding was made UTF-8. Rows were left alone. The publisher's file sits beside every version as source.xlsx so the change can be checked.