Geocoding API

Geocoding API is a simple tool that we have developed to ease the search for locations while working with geographic names and coordinates.

Supporting API calls by geographical coordinates is the most accurate way to specify any location, that is why this method is integrated in all OpenWeather APIs. However, this way is not always suitable for all users. Geocoding is the process of transformation of any location name into geographical coordinates, and the other way around (reverse geocoding). OpenWeather’s Geocoding API supports both the direct and reverse methods, working at the level of city names, areas and districts, countries and states:

Direct geocoding converts the specified name of a location or zip/post code into the exact geographical coordinates;
Reverse geocoding converts the geographical coordinates into the names of the nearby locations.

Direct geocoding

Direct geocoding allows to get geographical coordinates (lat, lon) by using name of the location (city name or area name). If you use the limit parameter in the API call, you can cap how many locations with the same name will be seen in the API response (for instance, London in the UK and London in the US).

Coordinates by location name

How to make an API call

API call

http://api.openweathermap.org/geo/1.0/direct?q={city name},{state code},{country code}&limit={limit}&appid={API key}

Parameters
`q`	required	City name, state code (only for the US) and country code divided by comma. Please use ISO 3166 country codes.
`appid`	required	Your unique API key (you can always find it on your account page under the "API key" tab)
`limit`	optional	Number of the locations in the API response (up to 5 results can be returned in the API response)

Example of API call

http://api.openweathermap.org/geo/1.0/direct?q=London&limit=5&appid={API key}

Example of API response

To view the API response, expand the example by clicking the triangle.

Please note that the fields present will vary based on a country to which a location belongs as well as a specific location.

name Name of the found location
local_names
- local_names.[language code] Name of the found location in different languages. The list of names can be different for different locations
- local_names.ascii Internal field
- local_names.feature_name Internal field
lat Geographical coordinates of the found location (latitude)
lon Geographical coordinates of the found location (longitude)
country Country of the found location
state (where available) State of the found location

Coordinates by zip/post code

How to make an API call

http://api.openweathermap.org/geo/1.0/zip?zip={zip code},{country code}&appid={API key}

Parameters
`zip code`	required	Zip/post code and country code divided by comma. Please use ISO 3166 country codes.
`appid`	required	Your unique API key (you can always find it on your account page under the "API key" tab)

Example of API call

http://api.openweathermap.org/geo/1.0/zip?zip=E14,GB&appid={API key}

Example of API response

{
  "zip": "90210",
  "name": "Beverly Hills",
  "lat": 34.0901,
  "lon": -118.4065,
  "country": "US"
}

Fields in API response

zip Specified zip/post code in the API request
name Name of the found area
lat Geographical coordinates of the centroid of found zip/post code (latitude)
lon Geographical coordinates of the centroid of found zip/post code (longitude)
country Country of the found zip/post code

Reverse geocoding

Reverse geocoding allows to get name of the location (city name or area name) by using geografical coordinates (lat, lon). The limit parameter in the API call allows you to cap how many location names you will see in the API response.

API call

http://api.openweathermap.org/geo/1.0/reverse?lat={lat}&lon={lon}&limit={limit}&appid={API key}

Parameters
`lat, lon`	required	Geographical coordinates (latitude, longitude)
`appid`	required	Your unique API key (you can always find it on your account page under the "API key" tab)
`limit`	optional	Number of the location names in the API response (several results can be returned in the API response)

Example of API call

http://api.openweathermap.org/geo/1.0/reverse?lat=51.5098&lon=-0.1180&limit=5&appid={API key}

Example of API response

To view the API response, expand the example by clicking the triangle.

Please note that the fields present will vary based on a country to which a location belongs as well as a specific location.

name Name of the found location
local_names
- local_names.[language code] Name of the found location in different languages. The list of names can be different for different locations.
- local_names.ascii Internal field
- local_names.feature_name Internal field
lat Geographical coordinates of the found location (latitude)
lon Geographical coordinates of the found location (longitude)
country Country of the found location
state (where available) State of the found location