Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

You can view your plan usage in the sidebar when viewing your orders. This will include the number of requests you have made and the volume of data downloaded. Please note this functionality is not yet available for the two Site-specific products.

If you are receiving a 429 HTTP status code when you make a request to an API, you have already reached your daily limit. For coverage data plans, you can view your current usage in the order configuration tool.

For certain products you can view your usage on the order dashboard page.

The API key is a unique string that is assigned to your application that you need to include in each request.

You will be given an API key after subscribing to a product. If you have already subscribed and have forgotten your API key you can view it by following these steps:

1. Log into your account
2. Click your profile icon
3. Click 'My Subscriptions'
4. Click the cog icon
5. Click 'API details / Refresh secret'

When you request data from Met Office Weather DataHub APIs you must set the 'apikey' header. We will use the API key to authorise your access to the APIs.

To reset your API key:

1. Log into your account
2. Click your profile icon
3. Click 'My Subscriptions'
4. Click the cog icon
5. Click 'API details / Refresh secret'
6. Click 'Reset secret'

To help keep your details safe, you are only able to view your API key the first time it is created. If you no longer have the API key, you can get a new one by following the reset process.

The API key is unique to the subscription you have created it for; therefore, it cannot be transferred from one application to another.

There are several reasons why you may not be receiving data:

It could also be an issue taking payment for your monthly subscription, in which case you may need to check with your card issuer or provide alternative card details.

• You have reached the limit of your daily allowance. The API will return a 429 HTTP status code to indicate this.
• You have entered the incorrect API key in your API call request. The API will return a 401 HTTP status code in this instance.
• You have reset your API key and have not updated it in your API call request. The API will return a 401 HTTP status code in this instance.
• You have registered but not subscribed to a usage plan. The API will return a 401 HTTP status code in this instance.

The data and products listed on Met Office Weather DataHub are made available to you under a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to download, use, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, adapt and exploit the Met Office Weather DataHub Products for use in your application. Certain conditions must be met and these are explained in more detail in the terms and conditions.

Users are required to include the following attribution statement in their application:

“Powered by Met Office data”

Yes. Subject to the terms of the licence granted to you (see Question & Answer above).

The atmospheric global 10km data, which is provided as a Met Office Weather DataHub product, does not meet the strict requirements for data provided for regulated aviation purposes. You must therefore not use the atmospheric global 10km data as a replacement for meteorological information as outlined in ICAO Annex 3 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation or as defined by the relevant competent aviation authority. You are only granted the right to use the atmospheric global 10km data in your application for aviation if your application falls outside the scope of ICAO Annex 3, or, if your application is used in compliance with the permitted use to provide services for aviation that are not regulated by a relevant aviation authority.

Once you have signed up and subscribed to a data usage plan, you can get started by viewing our documentation where you can find sample download code, sample data and available endpoints.

Coverage data subscription plans are based on data volume and are calculated over a monthly period. For example, if you sign up on the 5th of the month, your plan will reset on the 5th of the following month.

Please review the subscription details for any limits imposed.

Available models can be found here.

This service has been specifically developed to enable users to customise every aspect of the data required, from parameters needed, area required, frequency of update, days required and many further customisable aspects. Therefore, you have the choice on what data you take, and do not have to take data for the whole of the global model.

The data is updated every 6 hours, usually around 03:30, 09:30, 15:30 and 21:30 as approximate timings but this does vary.

The figure of 10 km is an approximate value appropriate to the resolution over the south of the UK at the surface. The resolution at the equator will be nearer 17 km and towards the poles. The resolution will decrease with height, as the atmosphere is (relatively) a very thin layer.

GRIB2 has standard WMO definitions for most standard parameters and there is also an ability for data producers to hold a local code for specific parameters produced, so that the data can be more accurately described.

Eg. wind speed at 10m (surface adjusted) is a Met Office local GRIB code and will not be listed in a standard GRIB table. Use the Weather DataHub (WDH) Glossary entry for this parameter to access a hyperlink to the MO local GRIB codes.

Once you have signed up and subscribed to a data usage plan, you can get started by viewing our documentation where you can find sample download code, sample data and available endpoints.

Spot data API call count is calculated on a per day basis over a monthly period. For example, if you sign up on the 5th of the month, your plan will reset on the 5th of the following month. Any unused data will not be carried over to the following day.

The spot data subscription plans are based on per day usage over a one-month time period. It is expected that our users will spread their call allowance based on the plan they have subscribed to. For example, if you are on a 10,000 API allowance per month you will be limited to 360 calls per day. If you require more calls per day, you will need to wait for the next cycle or upgrade to a plan with more API allowance.

The daily limit is the number of calls that you can make in a 24hour period to all APIs included within your subscription plan. This period is in GMT, so may not necessarily align to your local time. Unused API calls will not be carried over from one 24hour period to the next.

You will not receive any data once you reach the limit of your monthly allowance. You can upgrade your subscription at any time to a plan with a higher API allowance.

For spot data plans, if you have set usage notifications for this application, you should also receive an email to inform you of this.

You can see what the parameters are by referring to the links below:

• Global spot data - Daily
• Global spot data - 3 Hourly
• Global spot data - Hourly

For spot data APIs, only one location can be specified per call.

Spot data is updated hourly. Hourly data returns 2 days of data hourly, 3 hourly data returns 7 days of 3 hourly data and daily data returns 7 days of daily data.

All spot data parameters can be obtained using a single API call.

IMPROVER is an abbreviation of Integrated Model Post-Processing and Verification. This refers to the new probabilistic post-processing weather data system we have developed which drives the output of data for the Met Office Site-Specific Blended Probabilistic forecast.

If you have not found what you are interested in, visit our Weather and climate data web page for more information about the range of weather data we provide.

If you still can’t find what you are looking for, please contact enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk who will be able to pass your query to the right team and answer your question.

The new Global spot data set provides forecasts for 45,000 global sites/locations. The service will return data for the nearest forecast location to the requested longitudinal and latitudinal points. The response will detail the co-ordinates of the forecast location for which the data is provided.

For help getting started with using our API you can view our technical documentation.

If you need more support you can also raise a ticket using the form below.

Weather DataHub supports the following browsers:

• Chrome (latest two versions)
• Safari 12 and 13
• Edge (latest two versions) (Edge 18 partially supported)
• Samsung Internet (latest version)
• Firefox (latest two versions partially supported)
• Internet Explorer 11

If you placed your order as a consumer (and paid a charge for the products) then for most products bought online you have a legal right to change your mind within 14 days and receive a refund without giving any reason. These rights, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, are explained in more detail in the terms and conditions.

The cancellation period will expire (run out) 14 days from the day of the conclusion of the contract for the Met Office Weather DataHub Products. You do not have a right to change your mind and cancel the order where you start to download digital products.

For more information on your statutory rights as a consumer please visit UK Govt Consumer Rights.

In line with data protection principles, the personal information you provide will be strictly used to render the services requested by you. You may receive operational communications to keep you updated in connection with your use of the APIs and the service, but will have the option to opt-out of these emails should you wish. Details of how your personal data is managed is contained in the Met Office .

In the UK, Export Controls are measures imposed by the government to regulate the transfer of goods and information around the world. There are several reasons why government seek to do this, some of these are:

• The nature of the goods and information (e.g. military goods/software or controlled military information);
• Recipients and/or destinations (e.g. whether there are existing sanctions/reports of civil unrest in a destination country); and concerns about end use of the export (e.g. terrorism).

The Met Office does not intend to provide data or information that is subject to Export Controls through this platform. However, if you are concerned that UK Export Controls (or Export Control law in a destination country) may apply to your transaction, you should contact enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk. Further information about UK Export Controls can be found here.

The Met Office Weather DataHub can be accessed from any country which is not subject to UK Government financial sanctions. An up-to-date list of the restricted countries is available online. We will not activate accounts where persons attempt to order Met Office Weather DataHub Products or access the Met Office Weather DataHub to carry out the registration process from those countries. We will not allow customers to access their account or any Met Office Weather DataHub Product from any restricted country, even if they have placed their order and completed the registration process in a country that is not subject to these restrictions.

If you are looking for a paid for credit card plan – you will need to choose from the UK Business (with VAT added) or RoW business (no VAT added) to ensure that correct taxes in country are paid. Please see VAT FAQ for more information.

Any international consumers (please see definition of consumer) wanting more data than is available in the free tier, will need to contact us through the Enterprise option, to ensure that the correct in country sales tax is added.

The new Global spot data set provides forecasts for 45,000 global sites/locations. The service will return data for the nearest forecast location to the requested longitudinal and latitudinal points. The response will detail the co-ordinates of the forecast location for which the data is provided.

Unfortunately, XML is not available on the new Met Office Weather DataHub service. The Global spot data APIs support GeoJSON, an open standard format, designed for representing simple geographical features.

In some areas you will have different rights depending on whether you are a business or consumer. You are a consumer if you are an individual and are buying Met Office Weather DataHub Products wholly or mainly for your personal use (not for use in connection with your trade, business, craft or profession). In all other cases, you will be a business customer. In some areas you will have different rights depending on whether you are a business customer or a consumer.

The Met Office Weather DataHub Terms and Conditions make it clear which terms apply to businesses and which terms apply to consumers.

The data and products listed on Met Office Weather DataHub are made available to you under a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to download, use, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, adapt and exploit the Met Office Weather DataHub Products for use in your application.

We apply charges for certain plans, further details can be found on the Met Office Weather DataHub pricing page. We have greater costs of providing data for certain of our pricing plans and we are entitled to charge for providing this data in accordance with Regulation 15 of the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

If you've forgotten your password or need to change it but you remember the email address used for account registration, follow these steps to regain access to your account:

1. Go to the account login / register page
2. Click the link for "Forgotten password"
3. Enter the email address you used at registration and click "Send verification code"
4. Retrieve the verification code from your email and enter into required value
5. Verify the code and then click "Continue"
6. Click "Continue" on the change e-mail screen
7. Then, you will be presented with a screen to enter and confirm a new password

Please email the Met Office at enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk from the email address associated with your account with the subject line: Met Office Weather DataHub - edit profile.

Include the following information:

• Your current name (first name and surname)
• Your new first name and/or surname

We will email you once this has been completed.

Please email the Met Office at enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk from the email address associated with your account with the subject line: Met Office Weather DataHub - edit profile.

Include the following information:

• The current email address for your Met Office account
• Your new email address

We will email you once this has been completed.

Please email the Met Office at enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk from the email address associated with your account with the subject line: Weather Data Hub - delete account.

• First name
• Surname

We will email you once this has been completed.

You may cancel your subscription at any time via your account on the Met Office Weather DataHub or by giving us written notice using the following contact details: enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk. Please note that cancellation will take effect immediately and we are unable to offer refunds for unused data from your monthly subscriptions.

If you placed your order as a consumer (and paid a charge for the products) then for most products bought online you have a legal right to change your mind within 14 days and receive a refund without giving any reason. These rights, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, are explained in more detail in the Met Office Weather DataHub terms and conditions.

You have rights, both as a business customer and as a consumer, to terminate (end) the contract in other circumstances and the Met Office Weather DataHub terms and conditions explain these rights in more detail.

The Met Office has chosen to support the free provision of data up to a usage limit for some APIs - please see our pricing page for more information. The Met Office is applying charges for requests beyond the usage limit, so that the Met Office can offset the costs incurred of providing data to users.

Users are required to include the following attribution statement in their application:

“Powered by Met Office data”

The data and products listed on Met Office Weather DataHub are made available to you under a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to download, use, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, adapt and exploit the Met Office Weather DataHub Products for use in your application.

We apply charges for certain plans, further details can be found on the Met Office Weather DataHub pricing page. We have greater costs of providing data for certain of our pricing plans and we are entitled to charge for providing this data in accordance with Regulation 15 of the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

The invoice plan is for organisations who are, amongst other things, interested in higher volumes of data over and above the other plans. If you are unable to find a suitable plan in the other options, please contact us through the Enterprise plan and we will try and help you discover the right plan to suit your needs.

To access the invoice plan, follow the link on the page with the invoice plan listed.

When you are logged in to the Met Office Weather DataHub, follow these steps to set up a subscription:

1. Click the profile dropdown icon
2. Click 'My subscriptions'
3. Click on the 'Subscribe' button
4. Select the free plan and then click the 'Subscribe' button

When you are logged in to the Met Office Weather DataHub, follow these steps to set up a subscription:

1. Click the profile dropdown icon
2. Click 'My payment details'
3. Add a card
4. Click the profile dropdown icon
5. Click 'My subscriptions'
6. Click on the 'Subscribe' button
7. Select a plan and then click the 'Subscribe' button

The Met Office does not store your credit or debit card details on our server. All payment and card details are securely stored by the payment provider, Stripe. You can read their security policy here https://stripe.com/docs/security.

You are advised to read Stripe’s privacy policy carefully: https://stripe.com/gb/privacy.

The privacy policy sets out important information on the type of data Stripe collects. It also describes how Stripe collects, processes, uses and shares your data, your rights, choices and how you can contact Stripe about its privacy practices.

Our payment provider accepts all major credit/debit cards. We do not accept American Express. Once you have subscribed to a plan, we will auto-charge your registered credit/ debit card on a monthly basis until you cancel your subscription.

We currently do not offer invoice billing on personal accounts. This will only be available for Enterprise plan customers with higher data needs.

When there are multiple charges for the same transaction on your card statement, it may be because you have registered for two different usage plans using the same card. However, if you think this is an error, please send an email to our Service Desk using enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk. They will investigate the error and respond to you within five working days.

If you receive an error message when trying to make a payment, it may be that there is an issue with the funding source you are trying to use. You will need to contact your card issuer for more information.

The Met Office is registered for VAT in the UK and will therefore apply UK VAT at the standard rate on all domestic supplies of digital services. For customers located outside of the United Kingdom who are business customers, the price will be the net price with no VAT added. Such customers must account for sales tax themselves in accordance with their local tax rules.

For customers located outside of the United Kingdom who are consumers choosing to pay a subscription for the Met Office Weather DataHub Products, they will need to purchase the Met Office Weather DataHub Products using the Enterprise package (as described on the Met Office Weather DataHub).

In such a case, the sales tax inclusive price will be calculated in accordance with the current rates under the relevant legislation and confirmed to the customer before they place their order and this will be recorded on the order confirmation. Please note the Met Office may need to calculate the sales tax inclusive price offline and communicate it to the customer via email.

We currently do not accept invoice billing on consumer accounts. Payment in advance via invoicing will only be available for invoice plan accounts.

We are really using GiB and TiB when giving the volumes on the Order Summary even though we call it GB and TB. We are also pricing on GiB, but calling it GB to be consistent across Weather DataHub. So we only need to apply the conversion when the order is given in TB (actually TiB). 1Tebibyte=1024Gibibyte which is why we use this conversion in the pricing tool for any orders given in TB (actually TiB), to ensure that we are pricing in GiB (even though we are saying it is GB).

A 429 HTTP status code indicates that you have reached your daily limit for API requests against your current subscription plan. If you require additional requests, consider upgrading to a plan with higher limits.

A 401 HTTP status code indicates that you are not providing valid API credentials associated with a usage plan when making your request. This may be for one of the following reasons:

• You have not set the 'apikey' header for the request.
• The API key provided in the header is not valid. If you have reset your API key you will need to use the new value; the previous one will no longer work.
• You have registered your application but have not subscribed to a usage plan. Even if you provide the correct client ID and client secret you will not be able to retrieve data from the APIs until you have subscribed to a usage plan. Check the details for your application, under the Apps tab, to ensure that a plan has been selected.