OpenUV
Real-time and forecast UV index API covering global locations using NASA satellite data. Free tier available.
Status
🔴 Offline · 840 ms
🔴 Offline · 840 ms
30-day uptime
0%
0%
Free tier
100 calls/day, free key, no credit card
100 calls/day, free key, no credit card
Auth
API key
API key
Free alternatives (live ranking)
- NOAA National Weather Service — 🟢 Online · Unlimited (US only), no key, no credit card
- 7Timer! — 🟢 Online · Unlimited, no key, no credit card
- Open-Meteo Air Quality — 🟢 Online · 10,000 calls/day, no key, no credit card
Compare OpenUV with…
- OpenUV vs NOAA National Weather Service — Unlimited (US only), no key, no credit card
- OpenUV vs 7Timer! — Unlimited, no key, no credit card
- OpenUV vs Open-Meteo Air Quality — 10,000 calls/day, no key, no credit card
Paid alternatives
- OpenUV Pro — from $5/mo
Frequently Asked Questions
Does OpenUV require an API key?
Yes, OpenUV requires a free API key. You can sign up via https://www.openuv.io/api/v1/documentation.
What is OpenUV's free tier?
100 calls/day, free key, no credit card
Is OpenUV currently online?
We check OpenUV every hour. The current status is shown at the top of this page. You can also see the 30-day uptime history in the chart above.
Implementation notes
When to use OpenUV
OpenUV is the only dedicated UV index API with a free tier. Use it for sun-safety apps, gardening assistants, or outdoor fitness tools where UV exposure is a first-class concern. The free tier gives 100 calls/day — sufficient for a personal app that checks UV once or twice daily per location.
Common pitfalls
- 100 calls/day is exhausted quickly if you forget to cache. Each call to the `/uv` endpoint uses one credit. A user app polling every 30 minutes across 10 cities would burn 480 credits/day — nearly 5x the free tier. Always cache at least 30 minutes.
- The UV forecast (`/uv_forecast`) and UV protection time (`/protection_window`) endpoints require additional daily credits per call. They count against the same 100/day budget as the basic `/uv` endpoint, so mixing endpoint types halves your effective queries per feature.
- The auth header key is `x-access-token`, not `Authorization`. Many HTTP libraries default to `Authorization: Bearer` — using the wrong header name returns a 401 with a response body that may not clarify the header issue.
- UV index values are calculated based on cloud cover from real-time satellite data. The `uv_time` field in the response shows the exact UTC timestamp of the last UV calculation — values can be up to 30 minutes stale during overcast conditions.
Quick start (bash)
curl -H "x-access-token: YOUR_KEY" "https://api.openuv.io/api/v1/uv?lat=-33.86&lng=151.20"Embed this badge
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Markdown
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