Learn about our open data and how you can use it
We currently have nine high elevation sites that are generating data in Zimbabwe, Malawi and South Africa. These sites are serviced and maintained by our local technicians. The data is transmitted to a datalogger and you can get readings of wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, rainfall and solar radiation. The data is uploaded every hour and every 24 hours, and the historical data can be downloaded and exported.
How to access our data
Our data is freely available to anyone who needs it for policy making, scientific research and academic studies by clicking on the links below.
Mount Mulanje in Malawi is the region’s third-highest peak, with its 3,002m Sapitwa summit and a very striking landscape.
Located near the Mozambique border, it boasts rugged cliffs, lush flora, and diverse wildlife. The climate varies with altitude, featuring a tropical climate with temperatures between 15 – 25°C on the lower slopes and cooler conditions ranging from 5 – 15°C at higher elevations. The wettest season is from November to April, receiving 1,500mm to 2,500mm of rainfall. The mountain’s unique topography results in distinct ecosystems, from tropical rainforests on lower slopes to montane grasslands and heathlands at higher altitudes, harboring many endemic plant species, including the rare Mulanje Cedar and Mulanje Cycad. The grasslands and heathlands are home to various gladiolus and orchid species, some exclusive to the region.
The installation of our weather station on the side of Mount Mulanje was challenging. All our equipment was ported to the summit by hand and required the help and support of our partners at the Mount Mulanje Conservation Trust. Our installation team led by Professor Colin Everson and Dr Terry Everson from The University of KwaZulu-Natal climbed 11.5km trekking through wind, rain and sunshine with a combined weight of 150kg up the side of the mountain for the 8 hour climb. The installation was very successful and the weather is being monitored on the side of Mount Mulanje on Lichenya Plateau at a height of 1890 metres for the first time.
Nyika Plateau, a unique floral haven, boasts 200 wildflower and orchid species, mostly in montane grasslands, with seven of the species exclusive to the plateau.
With a diverse climate due to high altitude, warm months reach up to 25°C, while cooler months drop below freezing. The wet season between November and March sees 100-200 mm monthly rainfall.
The installation of our weather station on the Plateau was relatively straightforward as the site could be accessed by road so though the journey was long and bumpy our installation team led by Professor Colin Everson and Dr Terry Everson from The University of KwaZulu-Natal drove everything straight to the site.
The Bvumba Highlands lie southeast of Mutare and form the central section of the Manica Highlands, a chain of mountains along the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Bvumba mountains are slightly lower than Nyanga, rising to a peak of 1911m on Castle Beacon and 1714 m on Chinyakwaremba. The climate is moderate with a warm rainy season (average annual rainfall is 1800 mm) extending from November to March, and a cool winter from May to August. Frosts are not common. Periodically the Bvumba is affected by summer cyclones originating in the Indian Ocean.
The eastern slopes support moist evergreen indigenous forests, receiving orographic rainfall and frequent mists from the warm moist air blowing in from Mozambique. The leeward western slopes are drier and warmer, supporting Miombo (Brachystegia) woodland and savanna. Bare granite cliffs and scree slopes with scattered Strelizia nicolai occur along the edges of some mountains, with the tops covered in short montane grassland and heathland. Much of the Bvumba is privately owned farms and smallholdings, amongst large commercial eucalypt, pine and wattle plantations.
Alien invasive plants such as blackwood, wattle, bee bush and ornamental ginger threaten the biodiversity of the forests and montane grasslands.
The installation of our weather station in the Bvumba Mountains was our first and was led by Dr Alistiar Clulow from The University of KwaZulu-Natal with the help of our partners at the Seldom Seen Eco Tourist Lodge.
Nyanga is located in North-eastern Zimbabwe north of Muare and close to the Mozambique boarder. Within Nynaga is one of the oldest protected areas, the Nyanaga National Park. The altitude ranges from 700 metres in the Pungwe Valley to 2592 metres on Mt Nyangani, the highest mountain in Zimbabwe. Surrounding the park are small-scale farmlands, orchards and large commercial plantations of pine and eucalyptus.
The climate is moderate ranging from 5-28C in the summer months (September-March). The winters (June – August) are characterised with frost and overcast days. The average annual rainfall is 1237mm although tropical storms periodically result in elevated rainfall totals. Nynaga is characterised by scenic grassland, interspersed with fynbos-like vegetation on the plateau summit unique dwarf Brachystegia speciforms woodland, moist montane forest and patches of medium to low altitude rainforest in the Honde and Pungwe Valleys. Exotic species such as Black Wattle, Eucalyptus and Pine were introduced as commercial species and have since become invasive and threaten the biodiversity of the area.
The installation of our weather station in Nyanga National Park was led by Dr Alistiar Clulow from The University of KwaZulu-Natal with the help of our partners at Zim Parks including the ecologist Kundai Dube. Torrential rain fell throughout the installation and our team had to resort to wrapping themselves in bubble wrap to protect themselves from the wind and rain.
The weather station is located on the Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State, at 1693 m, on the edge of the town of Phuthaditjhaba. The station is situated on the edge of the eastern Free State Highveld, close to the spectacular and historical QwaQwa Mountain and Golden Gate Highlands National Park. It provides a “Highveld control” for the four weather stations placed in an elevation transect in the northern Maloti-Drakensberg (from the Information Centre at Royal Natal to the top of the ‘Berg).
This area features a mosaic of sandy, rocky and clay grasslands on gentle topography with occasional mesas, large wetlands, and rivers with high sinuosity interrupting this landscape. Larger rivers have complex mature drainage including extensive floodplains with an abundance of oxbow lakes. The area is used predominantly as commercial livestock rangeland and for crop agriculture. Summers are warm, reaching up to 32°C, while winter temperatures can drop to -2°C or less. The area is the lee of the main eastern Great Escarpment and Maloti-Drakensberg, and rainfall is less by about 300 mm than on the Escarpment, being between 750 and 800 mm per annum.
The area is strongly impacted by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), with high variability in rainfall between El Niño (dry) and La Niña (wet) summers. Historically there was a high prevalence of plains game including numerous species of antelope, African Lion, Cheetah and possibly White Rhino. The area is important for several Endangered and Critically Endangered birds and animals including all three regional crane species, White-winged Flufftail, Botha’s Lark, and the Sungazer Lizard.
Located at 1393 m at the base of the Maloti-Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal, this station forms the lowest in an elevation transect of four stations in the northern Maloti-Drakensberg. It is situated in the Royal Natal section of the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park & Unesco World Heritage Site.
Royal Natal was originally named ‘Natal National Park, the ‘Royal’ being added after the 1947 visit by King George VI and family. The landscape comprises high sandstone cliffs and rolling valleys backed by the one kilometre high Amphitheatre on the main Drakensberg basalt escarpment – reaching 3,282 m at Mont-aux-Sources on the border with Lesotho and the Free State. There are an abundance of waterfalls in Royal Natal, including the highest waterfall in the world – the uThukhela (Tugela) Falls at 983 m total drop. Royal Natal’s climate varies significantly with season and elevation – being warm and wet in summer and cold and dry with frequent snow in winter.
The alpine zone above 2,800 m is cool most of the year. Temperatures at lower elevations vary between 25°C maximum in summer down to -10°C in winter. Mean annual rainfall is around 1,000 mm, usually in the form of orographic summer rain. Park is rich in biodiversity, hosting important populations of endemic eastern Great Escarpment and Maloti-Drakensberg endemic plants and animals, as well as other species of high conservation concern such as Bearded and Cape Vultures.

Special thanks to Draadloze for generously providing internet connectivity for our Sentinel Escarpment Weather Station, where GSM reception is unavailable.
Questions about how you can use our data? See our FAQ’s below for answers.
At 2,573 m, this is one of the highest weather stations in the whole of southern Africa, and is higher than some of the highest peaks in neighbouring countries other than Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Interestingly it is exactly the same elevation as the summit of the Brandberg in Namibia – Namibia’s highest point. Located on the narrow basalt ridge above the Sentinel Car Park at Witsieshoek, on the border between the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal provinces in South Africa, it is the third in an elevation transect of four stations in the northern Maloti-Drakensberg.
The Sentinel Car Park is one of the highest road access points in South Africa and is the trailhead for the famous Sentinel Hiking Trail that leads to the Chain Ladders, Amphitheatre, uThukhela Falls (now considered the world’s highest), and the Drakensberg and QwaQwa Maloti Traverses. The terrain is dramatic, being dominated by plunging steep valleys below the high basalt scarps. The vegetation is sub-alpine, being characterised by a high prevalence of soft C3 grasses and temperate herbaceous plants forming spectacular summer displays. It is a fantastic place to see the Maloti-Drakensberg near-endemic bird Orange-breasted Rockjumper, which is often seen on the Sentinel Trail. A quiet observer will see Klipspringer among the rocky crags.
The weather is very variable, being mild in summer with frequent white-outs from mist, and there are frequent violent thunderstorms. In winter, snow is very common and temperatures are often below freezing. Being on a ridge, wind is common and very high speeds are typical. The area receives an average annual rainfall of about 1,000 to 1,500 mm.
This weather station is the second in an elevation transect of four stations in the northern Maloti-Drakensberg. It is situated at 2,244 m on a ridge just behind Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge. It is accessed via the Sentinel Car Park road. The ridge is a lower section of the same one on which the third weather station in this transect (i.e. above the Sentinel Car Park) is located, and runs from Sentinel Peak north to Majuba near Newcastle; it forms the boundary between the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal for this entire length.
Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge is the highest tourist lodge in the Free State and adjacent KwaZulu-Natal, having been established in the 1970s – although there was a stone hut build on the site in 1950s as a refuge for hikers. Originally (pre-Lodge), the main route up the ‘Berg in this area was via Namahadi Pass, until the Lodge, Sentinel Road, and Chain Ladders were constructed. The area consists of cold upper montane and sub-alpine grassland on basalt, with high plant diversity especially in the genus Helichrysum (everlastings). The Lodge is one of the easiest places in the world to see the Critically Endangered Bearded Vulture, due to a feeding scheme and easy road access.
Other animals that can sometimes be seen from the Lodge in adjacent Royal Natal are Eland and Mountain Reedbuck. Temperatures at Witsieshoek are cool due to the high elevation, reaching around 20°C in summer; freezing mist and snow are common in winter, with temperatures down to -6°C. May is one of the most pleasant months to visit the area, given a prevalence of clear skies, warm days, and low winds.
One of the highest weather stations in southern Africa, this weather station – situated at 3064 m – is one of only two in the alpine zone in South Africa. It is the fourth in an elevation transect of four stations in the northern Maloti-Drakensberg, and is located near the Witsieshoek-Afromontane Research Unit Alpine Base, in the Free State province of South Africa. The station forms part of the key instrumentation site of the Mont-aux-Sources Long-term Social-ecological Research Site, and will eventually complement the South African Environmental Observation Network’s Northern Drakensberg EFTEON equipment array.
Data FAQs
Yes but we ask you to please acknowledge us as your data source with the following:
“We thank the African Mountain Research Foundation for the provision of meteorological data. Interested parties may contact info@africanmountianresearch.com for data access”
Yes, we provide all our data to the National Meteorological agencies and they then integrate our data into their systems.
Yes, we really want people to get involved and to contact us if they are keen to use our data and know of good high elevation sites for our next station. If you would like to find out more contact us on info@africanmountainresearch.com
AMRF always works under agreement of national or regional governments. Typically, an MOU with the National Meteorological Agency defines the modus operandi in a country. It is also possible that, in case of externally funded projects, AMRF has agreements with other government agencies or NGOs that already have agreements in place with their local governments.
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