Johannesburg – The South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON), in collaboration with the University of the Free State’s Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), has installed the highest weather station in Southern Africa at Mont-aux-Sources area of the Maluti-Drakensberg.
Positioned atop the iconic Amphitheatre at 3 100 metres above sea level, the automatic weather station will provide real-time climate data critical to understanding a region of exceptional biodiversity value.
The site encompasses key alpine and high-altitude ecosystems of the Drakensberg, which makes continuous environmental monitoring essential for research and conservation.
This strategically located station forms part of a growing network of advanced research infrastructure being deployed across the Northern Drakensberg.
The initiative is jointly implemented through NRF-SAEON’s Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON), the NRF-SAEON Grasslands Node, and the ARU.
The station records temperature, humidity, wind, incoming solar radiation, rainfall, and barometric pressure.
“These continuous measurements are essential for tracking climate change, extreme weather, and catchment health in real time,” Dr. Kathleen Smart, biogeochemist and manager of EFTEON Northern Drakensberg, said on Sunday, 30 November 2025.
“The information will be openly available to researchers, land managers, hikers, tourism operators, and anybody interested in the dynamics of this truly remarkable landscape.”
Live measurements will be available on the NRF-SAEON live weather platform, where downloadable datasets will also be hosted: https://observationsmonitor.saeon.ac.za/home.
“This station represents years of collaboration between NRF-SAEON and the ARU,” said Professor Ralph Clark, Director of the ARU.
“It opens a window into the environmental processes that shape mountain ecosystems, which are vital for water security and biodiversity.”
The new station is one of five positioned along an altitudinal gradient stretching from the UFS’s Qwaqwa Campus, through Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge, to the alpine zone atop the Maloti-Drakensberg escarpment.
It complements existing programmes and research initiatives underway within the Mount-Aux-Sources Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Platform (MaS-LTSER)—the only cross-border, mountain-focused LTSER platform in Africa.
Streamflow and wetland water content are monitored continuously within this open-air laboratory, which also boasts the highest research accommodation facility in Africa.
Professor Johan van Tol, who leads the MaS-LTSER initiative, said Abri de Buys, EFTEON Chief Instrument Technician, and Jeremy Moonsamy, EFTEON’s Northern Drakensberg Instrument Technician, led the installation of the weather station.
“This region is critical for several reasons,” said Professor Van Tol.
“It supports the livelihoods of many people in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and Lesotho, many of whom depend heavily on the availability and quality of ecosystem services derived from these mountainous landscapes.
“At a national scale, this includes areas of agricultural importance.”
Moonsamy said: “This is a strategic water source area. It is the origin of several major rivers in South Africa, including the Orange, Tugela, and Vaal systems.
“It is, therefore, vital to monitor and understand the conditions and processes driving change in this region, including issues such as climate change, land use and land management impacts, and atmospheric pollution.”
De Buys added: “Most of the weather networks in South Africa tend to be located in lower lying areas where most of the human activity is.
“There’s a shortage of information from our high mountainous areas, the area that NRF-SAEON is slowly moving into.”
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