Data

API Documentation

The HICS data API is fully public and requires no authentication for read access. All readings include an automatic quality flag.

Overview

The HICS API is public and authentication-free. No API key required. Rate limit: 120 requests/minute. All responses are JSON. Timestamps are UTC ISO 8601. All read-only endpoints return Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * — safe to call from browser JavaScript on any domain.

Base URL: https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/

Try it interactively: Open API Explorer (Swagger UI) → · Download OpenAPI 3.0 Spec (JSON) · Discovery endpoint

Endpoints

GET /api/v1/stations/

List all active and maintenance stations with status and latest reading summary. Add ?output=geojson to receive a GeoJSON FeatureCollection (RFC 7946) suitable for QGIS, Leaflet, and PANGAEA submission.

Example

curl https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/stations/ curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/stations/?output=geojson"

Response fields

Field	Type	Description
station_id	string	Unique station identifier
name	string	Human-readable station name
latitude / longitude	float	Decimal degrees
altitude_m	float	Metres above sea level
status	string	active / maintenance
last_seen	datetime	Last telemetry timestamp (UTC)
latest.temperature_c	float	Most recent temperature (°C)

GET /api/v1/data/compare/?stations=IESH-KMC-001,DLP-001

Aligned timeseries for multiple stations in a single request — designed for altitude-gradient comparison charts and multi-station analysis without N separate API calls.

curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/data/compare/?stations=IESH-KMC-001,DLP-001&param=temperature_c&hours=24"

Query parameters

Param	Values	Default
stations	comma-separated station IDs (max 10)	required
param	temperature_c · humidity_rh · pressure_hpa · pm2_5 · pm10 · co2_ppm	temperature_c
hours	1–720	24
quality	ok	all flags

GET /api/v1/data/latest/?station=IESH-KMC-001

The single most-recent reading for a station, including all sensor values and the auto-assigned quality flag.

Example

curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/data/latest/?station=IESH-KMC-001"

Additional response fields

quality_flag — ok | suspect | invalid. Automatically assigned on ingestion. suspect = value outside physical plausibility bounds. invalid = manually flagged by an operator.

GET /api/v1/data/historical/?station=IESH-KMC-001&hours=24

Time series for the requested station. Returns an array of readings ordered by timestamp ascending. Maximum window: 720 hours (30 days).

curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/data/historical/?station=IESH-KMC-001&hours=168"

Parameters

Param	Default	Description
station	IESH-KMC-001	Station ID
hours	24	Lookback window in hours. Clamped to [1, 720].

GET /api/v1/data/download/?station=IESH-KMC-001

Full station history as a streaming CSV download. Includes attribution comment header with CC BY 4.0 licence and citation template. Multi-station: use ?stations=IESH-KMC-001,DLP-001 to download multiple stations as a single CSV (adds station_id as first column).

curl -OJ "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/data/download/?station=IESH-KMC-001"

Multi-station

curl -OJ "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/data/download/?stations=IESH-KMC-001,DLP-001&quality=ok"

CSV columns

timestamp_utc, temperature_c, humidity_rh, pressure_hpa, pm2_5_ugm3, pm10_ugm3, co2_ppm, quality_flag

Optional filter parameters

Param	Example	Description
from_date	2026-01-01	Start date, inclusive. ISO format YYYY-MM-DD.
to_date	2026-06-30	End date, inclusive. ISO format YYYY-MM-DD.
quality	ok	Set to `ok` to exclude suspect and invalid readings.

Example: ?station=IESH-KMC-001&from_date=2026-01-01&to_date=2026-03-31&quality=ok

GET /api/v1/stats/

Platform-level aggregate statistics: station counts, total readings, quality percentage, and data date range. Suitable for status pages and external dashboards.

curl https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/stats/

Response fields

Field	Type	Description
stations.total	int	Total station count (all statuses)
stations.active	int	Stations with status=active
readings.total	int	All readings ever recorded
readings.ok	int	Readings with quality_flag=ok
readings.ok_pct	float\|null	Percentage of ok readings. null if no readings yet.
readings.earliest	datetime	Timestamp of first ever reading (UTC)
readings.latest	datetime	Timestamp of most recent reading (UTC)
generated_at	datetime	Response generation timestamp (UTC)

GET /api/v1/data/aggregate/?station=IESH-KMC-001&period=month

Statistical aggregates (mean/min/max) grouped by time period. Designed for research publications, PANGAEA submissions, and long-term trend analysis. Supports streaming CSV output for direct import into analysis tools.

Example — monthly means

curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/data/aggregate/?station=IESH-KMC-001&period=month&quality=ok"

Download as CSV

curl -OJ "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/data/aggregate/?station=IESH-KMC-001&period=day&output=csv"

Query parameters

Param	Values	Default
station	station_id	IESH-KMC-001
period	hour · day · week · month	day
from_date	YYYY-MM-DD	all
to_date	YYYY-MM-DD	all
quality	ok	all flags
output	csv	json

GET /api/v1/health/

Station health check endpoint. Returns ok: true plus station status and most-recent-reading age for each station. Suitable for uptime monitors. Human-readable service status page: /status/

curl https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/health/

GET /api/v1/notes/

Paginated JSON list of all published lab notes (title, type, date, location, GPS coordinates, summary, tags, linked programmes). Filters: ?type= (field/build/observation/analysis/experiment), ?programme=<slug>, ?from_date=YYYY-MM-DD. 20 per page.

curl https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/notes/ curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/notes/?type=field"

GET /api/v1/publications/

Paginated JSON list of all HICS publications (title, authors, journal, year, pub_type, doi, open_access_url, abstract, plain_language_summary, linked HICS team members with ORCID). Filters: ?pub_type=peer-reviewed|preprint|report|data-paper, ?year=. 20 per page.

curl https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/publications/ curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/publications/?pub_type=peer-reviewed"

RIS /publications/<id>/cite.ris

RIS citation file download for citation managers (Zotero, Mendeley, RefWorks, EndNote). Returns application/x-research-info-systems with correct TY type (JOUR/RPRT/DATA) per publication type.

curl -O https://himalayansciences.org/publications/1/cite.ris

/embed/station/IESH-KMC-001/

Self-contained iframe widget for embedding live station data on any website. Renders a Chart.js chart that auto-refreshes every 60 seconds. No JavaScript dependencies required on the host page.

Query parameters

Param	Values	Default
param	temperature_c · humidity_rh · pressure_hpa · pm2_5 · co2_ppm	temperature_c
theme	dark · light	dark
hours	1–168	24

GET /api/v1/activity/

Unified chronological feed of lab notes and publications, newest first. Use ?limit=N (max 50) to control the number of items returned.

curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/activity/?limit=10"

GET /api/v1/search/?q=<query>

Full-text search across all HICS content — research programmes, lab notes, team, instruments, and publications. Returns at most 20 results with type, title, URL, and summary.

curl "https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/search/?q=cosmic+ray"

GET /api/v1/changelog/

Machine-readable API version history — lists changes made in each release. Useful for client developers tracking breaking and additive changes.

curl https://himalayansciences.org/api/v1/changelog/

Data Quality Flags

Every reading carries a quality_flag field assigned automatically at ingestion time.

Flag	Meaning
ok	All values within physical plausibility bounds.
suspect	One or more values outside physical bounds. Bounds: temp −50..60°C, RH 0..100%, pressure 300..1100 hPa, PM2.5 0..1000 µg/m³.
invalid	Manually flagged as invalid by a station operator. Exclude from analysis.