The WDQMS web tool offers a RESTful API that enables users to access the same monitoring data displayed on the interactive maps. Through the API, users can directly download monitoring statistics in machine-readable formats, making it possible to automate data extraction, perform custom analyses, or integrate WDQMS information into another applications.

The base URL for accessing WDQMS web tool is:

 https://wdqms.wmo.int/wdqmsapi/v1/download/{module}/{type}/{period}/{category}/?request-parameters

 URL parameters

  • module: Refers to the monitoring module (e.g., nwp, gbon)
  • type: Refers to observation type (e.g., synop, temp) within the module.
  • period: Refers to aggregation period (e.g., six_hour, daily, monthly). Note that there is no six_hour period for GBON module TEMP type.
  • category: Refers to performance measure (e.g., availability, quality, timeliness). Note that there is no quality for GBON module.

Additional request parameters can be included as a query string (after ?) to refine the data request. 

 The Request parameters are:

  • date: YYYY-mm-dd
  • variable: temperature, pressure, zonal_wind, meridional_wind, humidity (for SYNOP type only)
  • centers: [all, DWD, ECMWF, JMA, NCEP]
  • period: [1,6,12,18] (for 6-hour views only)
  • baseline : [oscar, hourly, 2-daily] (for NPW module only, and not for 6-hour TEMP)
  • extra_columns: [nr_complete, gross_error_percent] (for NWP module TEMP availability and SYNOP module quality respectively)

When the type is marine surface the URL will only allow the quality category,  i.e.,

 marine_surface/{period}/quality/? (no monthly period)

In the case of GCOS module, there are these 4 possible combinations:

Example: https://wdqms.wmo.int/wdqmsapi/v1/download/synop/six_hour/availability/?date=2024-11-18&period=18&variable=pressure&centers=DWD,ECMWF,JMA,NCEP&baseline=hourly


Rate Limiting 

Since WDQMS v1.8, the number of daily downloads from the WDQMS API (https://wdqms.wmo.int/wdqmsapi/v1/) is limited to 100 per IP address. Requests exceeding this limit receive an HTTP 429 (Too Many Requests) status code and a link to this documentation. 

Users requiring high-volume access to the WDQMS API can obtain a free API token by completing this registration form. 

The API token must be provided in the HTTP Authorization header. For example, using curl: 

curl -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_ACTUAL_TOKEN" https://wdqms.wmo.int/wdqmsapi/v1/download/nwp/synop/six_hour/availability/?date=2026-08-30&period=18&variable=pressure&centers=COMBINED&baseline=OSCAR 

The purpose of this policy is to ensure reliable WDQMS performance for all users by limiting the impact of anonymous high-volume requests and automated traffic on the system. 

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