API Reference

Patched Point data

API request returns a single point dataset at a station location.

Attributes

The attributes for a point data request vary depending on the format and data type requested.

Routes

Get point data

HTTP method GET
URI /PatchedPointDataset.php
Parameters
Name Required Default Type Description
start yes string The first date to get data for, formatted as YYYYMMDD , for example, 20160101.
finish yes string The last date to get data for, formatted as YYYYMMDD , for example, 20160101.
station yes int The station number to get data for, for example, 40004.
format yes string The format to get data in. Valid formats include:
  • Customised formats (the required variables are encoded in the comment parameter):
    Format name API string
    JSON json
    CSV (Comma-Separated Values) csv
  • Predefined formats:
    Format name API string
    Standard standard
    FAO56 Penman-Monteith for short crops fao56
    APSIM model apsim
    P51 for GRASP and MEDLI models p51
    RAINMAN rainman
    Rain Only rainonly
    ASCE Penman-Monteith for tall crops ascepm
    Monthly summary monthly
    All Morton hydrological evapotranspirations allmort
    Synthetic pan before 1970, pan evaporation after 1970 evap_span
    Synthetic pan comparison span
    CenW Forest Growth model cenw
    Comparison including ASCE-PM all2016
    Comparison alldata
username

yes

string

Your email address
comment

yes if CSV, JSON, or RAINMAN format is specified

no otherwise

 string

An optional string that is inserted in the comment field of the requested dataset (the comment field is not available in all data formats). The maximum length of the string is 20 characters.

This field is also used to specify the variable(s) required when requesting data in JSON and CSV formats. Each variable is specified using a single character (e.g. ‘R’ = Rain). The variable codes are provided on the Climate variables page. Multiple variables can be requested e.g. comment=rx will retrieve data for daily rainfall and maximum temperature.

This field is also used to specify the variable required when requesting data in RAINMAN format. Each variable is specified using an abbreviated name: rain (daily rainfall), tmax, tmin (maximum and minimum temperature), evap (class A pan evaporation), vp (vapour pressure) and rad (solar radiation). Only a single variable can be requested in one API call e.g. comment=rad will retrieve data for solar radiation.

NOTE: you will need to replace <email_address> with your email address in all the example requests below.

Example request - data for January 2016, station 40004, maximum and minimum temperature in JSON format
https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/PatchedPointDataset.php?station=40004&start=20160101&finish=20160131&format=json&comment=XN&username=<email_address>
Example request - data for January 2016, station 40004, in APSIM format
https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/PatchedPointDataset.php?station=40004&start=20160101&finish=20160131&format=apsim&username=<email_address>

The response for a point data request will vary depending on the format requested. Please see the file formats and samples page for a sample of each format.

 

Data Drill data

API request returns a single point dataset at a grid cell location.

Attributes

The attributes for a point data request vary depending on the format and data type requested.

Routes

Get point data

HTTP method GET
URI /DataDrillDataset.php
Parameters
Name Required Default Type Description
start yes string The first date to get data for, formatted as YYYYMMDD , for example, 20160101.
finish yes string The last date to get data for, formatted as YYYYMMDD , for example, 20160101.
lat yes float The latitude of a grid point to get data for, for example, -34.05. Latitudes must be specified to the nearest 0.05°.
lon yes float The longitude of a grid point to get data for, for example, 127.5. Longitudes must be specified to the nearest 0.05°.
format yes string The format to get data in. Valid formats include:
  • Customised formats (the required variables are encoded in the comment parameter):
    Format name API string
    JSON json
    CSV (Comma-Separated Values) csv
  • Predefined formats:
    Format name API string
    All data alldata
    All data with ASCE all2016
    APSIM apsim
    ASCE (tall crop) ascepm
    CenW Forest Growth Model cenw
    FAO56 (short crop) fao56
    Monthly monthly
    Morton's allmort
    P51 p51
    RAINMAN rainman
    Rain only rainonly
    Standard standard
    Synthetic pan (combination) evap_span
    Synthetic pan (comparison) span
username

yes

string

Your email address
password

yes

string

Any string containing only alphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9), such as 'apirequest'.
comment

yes if CSV, JSON, or RAINMAN format is specified

no otherwise

string

An optional string that is inserted in the comment field of the requested dataset (the comment field is not available in all data formats). The maximum length of the string is 20 characters.

This field is also used to specify the variable(s) required when requesting data in JSON and CSV formats. Each variable is specified using a single character (e.g. ‘R’ = Rain). The variable codes are provided on the Climate variables page. Multiple variables can be requested e.g. comment=rx will retrieve data for daily rainfall and maximum temperature.

This field is also used to specify the variable required when requesting data in RAINMAN format. Each variable is specified using an abbreviated name: rain (daily rainfall), tmax, tmin (maximum and minimum temperature), evap (class A pan evaporation), vp (vapour pressure) and rad (solar radiation). Only a single variable can be requested in one API call e.g. comment=rad will retrieve data for solar radiation.

NOTE: you will need to replace <email_address> with your email address in all the example requests below.

Example request - data for January 2016, latitude -27.5 and longitude 135.0, maximum and minimum temperature data in CSV format
https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/DataDrillDataset.php?lat=-27.50&lon=135.00&start=20160101&finish=20160131&format=csv&comment=XN&username=<email_address>&password=apirequest

The response for a point data request will vary depending on the format requested. Please see the file formats and samples page for a sample of each format.

Stations

API request returns information about the observing stations for which point datasets are available.

Attributes

Attribute Type Description
number int The Bureau of Meteorology station number.
name string The name of the station.
latitude float The latitude of the station in GDA94.
longitude float The longitude of the station in GDA94.
elevation int The elevation of the station, measured as meters above sea level.
state string The state in which the station is located.

Routes

Get details of single stations

HTTP method GET
URI /PatchedPointDataset.php?format=ID
Parameters
Name Required Default Type Description
station yes int The number of the station to get metadata for.
Example request – metadata for station 30068
https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/PatchedPointDataset.php?format=id&station=30068

Search for stations near a given station

HTTP method GET
URI /PatchedPointDataset.php?format=near
Parameters
Name Required Default Type Description
station yes int The number of the station to perform a radius search around.
radius no 50 int The radius to search around the specified station, in kilometres. This can be used to obtain a list of all stations by setting the radius sufficiently large to capture all stations e.g. radius=10000.
sortby no distance string How the results are to be sorted. Valid options are ID (sort by station number), dist (sort by distance) and name (alphabetical sort by station name).
Example request – metadata for all stations within 100 km of station 30068, sorted alphabetically by station name
https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/PatchedPointDataset.php?format=near&station=30068&radius=100&sortby=name

Search for stations by name

HTTP method GET
URI /PatchedPointDataset.php?format=name
Parameters
Name Required Default Type Description
nameFrag yes string Name or part of a station name. The maximum length of the string is 10 characters and it cannot contain spaces. Underscores can be used for wildcard searching. For example, nameFrag=m_l_g_d_ry will locate MULLENGUDGERY station, and nameFrag=cai_aero will locate CAIRNS AERO station.
Example request – metadata for all stations that have “br_sb_ne” in their name (the underscore matches zero or more characters)
https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/PatchedPointDataset.php?format=name&nameFrag=br_sb_ne
Last updated: 18 May 2021
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