A Beacon of Climate Data
At the southernmost point of Sri Lanka stands the Dondra Head Lighthouse, an octagonal brick tower that has been operational since March 1890. Designed by Sir James Nicholas Douglass, the 49-meter (161-foot) structure is the tallest lighthouse in the country. Its construction was an imperial project; the steel and bricks were imported from England, while granite came from quarries in Dalbeattie, Scotland, and Penryn, Cornwall. The lighthouse itself is a navigational aid, but its scientific contribution comes from the weather station established on its grounds.
Since 1889, this station has compiled a nearly uninterrupted record of meteorological data. Its location on Dondra Head is optimal for observing the atmospheric and oceanic systems that govern Sri Lanka's climate. The island experiences two distinct monsoon seasons: the Yala or southwest monsoon from May to October, and the Maha or northeast monsoon from December to March. The Dondra data provides a high-resolution, ground-truth account of these complex weather systems, recording daily measurements of rainfall, temperature, and wind. This long-term dataset is used by scientists studying climatic shifts over more than a century.