The National Research Foundation – South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON), in collaboration with the University of the Free State’s (UFS’s) Afromontane Research Unit (ARU), has installed the highest weather station in Southern Africa in the Mont-aux-Sources area of the Maluti-Drakensberg.

Positioned atop the iconic Drakensberg Amphitheatre at 3 100 m above sea level, the automatic weather station will provide real-time climate data critical to understanding a region of exceptional biodiversity value, says the NRF.

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 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,” says EFTEON Northern Drakensberg manager and biogeochemist Dr Kathleen Smart.

“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,” explains ARU director Professor Ralph Clark.

“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 Maluti-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.

“This region is critical for several reasons,” says Professor Johan van Tol, who leads the MaS-LTSER initiative.

“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.”

“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,” adds EFTEON Northern Drakensberg instrument technician Jeremy Moonsamy, who assisted EFTEON chief instrument technician Abri de Buys in the installation of the system.

“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.”

“Most of the weather networks in South Africa tend to be located in lower lying areas where most of the human activity is,” notes De Buys.

“There's a shortage of information from our high mountainous areas – the area that NRF-SAEON is now moving into.”