SA Installs Southern Africa’s Highest Weather Station to Strengthen Climate Research

Dr Kathleen Smart, EFTEON Northern Drakensberg Manager, said the live monitoring system offers unprecedented data access.

In a major milestone for environmental science and climate research in Southern Africa, the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), in partnership with the University of the Free State’s Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), has successfully installed the highest weather station in the region.

Located at 3 100 metres above sea level in the Mont-aux-Sources region of the Maluti-Drakensberg, the station is perched above the iconic Drakensberg amphitheatre — a landscape renowned for its ecological, hydrological, and geological significance.

The fully automated weather station is designed to collect high-resolution climate and environmental data, filling critical gaps in scientific understanding of mountain ecosystems — areas known to be highly sensitive to climate change but historically under-researched due to extreme terrain and accessibility challenges.

The new installation forms part of SAEON’s Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON) and contributes to a broader network of climate monitoring infrastructure stretching across the Northern Drakensberg landscape. Five such stations now operate along an altitudinal range from the UFS Qwaqwa Campus to the high alpine plateau.

Real-Time Climate Monitoring in a Critical Biodiversity Hub

The station measures key climate variables including:

• Temperature

• Humidity

• Wind speed and direction

• Incoming solar radiation

• Rainfall

• Barometric pressure

Dr Kathleen Smart, EFTEON Northern Drakensberg Manager, said the live monitoring system offers unprecedented data access.

“Mountain ecosystems are climate hotspots. Continuous, open access measurements from this station will help researchers track long-term climate trends, extreme events, and catchment health in real time.”

Data will be publicly accessible through SAEON’s online platform and made available to scientists, conservationists, government environmental bodies, private land managers, and adventure tourism operators.

Strengthening Research for Water Security and Conservation

Maluti-Drakensberg ecosystems feed some of South Africa’s most important rivers — including the Orange, Tugela, and Vaal systems, making them critical to national water security.

EFTEON technician Jeremy Moonsamy emphasised the strategic value of the installation:

“These mountains are one of the most important water source regions in South Africa. Understanding environmental change here is essential for planning agriculture, conservation, and future water infrastructure.”

The weather station supports ongoing work under the Mount-Aux-Sources Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Platform (MaS-LTSER) — the only cross-border high-altitude research platform in Africa linking South Africa and Lesotho-based investigators. The area already hosts the highest field accommodation for scientists on the continent.

Expanding Knowledge Where Gaps Exist

Chief EFTEON Instrument Technician, Abri de Buys, who oversaw installation logistics, noted that South African weather monitoring networks have historically focused on lowland areas.

“Mountain regions are under-sampled globally — and yet they respond most quickly to climate change. This installation marks a major step in closing that data gap.”

The initiative aligns with South Africa’s long-term environmental monitoring strategy led by SAEON, a National Research Foundation division established in 2002 to build national datasets on environmental change, land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate impacts.

Live weather feeds and downloadable historical datasets will be available on SAEON’s platform.