Martin Beadle accepted the award from Sir Chris Bonington

Lancaster University owns the station at Hazelrigg which has been taking measurements every day since 1976.

The anniversary means weather records from Hazelrigg qualify for inclusion in world climate reports by the World Meteorological Organisation.

Sir Chris said Hazelrigg has a vital role to play in tracking changes.

Highly valued

The climber, who is also the university's chancellor, said he had noticed how snow had disappeared from his home in the Lake District over the past 30 years and even from the top of Everest, which had a ridge of snow when he first ascended the summit in 1985.

Sir Chris presented an award to Martin Beadle who recorded the data at 0900 GMT every day until his retirement in 2001.

The Met Office says Hazelrigg plays an important role

Mr Beadle said: "I remember the times when the wind was blowing so hard I had to hold my spectacles on and times when the snow would build up on them so I could hardly see."

He said he was always fascinated by the weather.

"I read every book in the school library on weather from cover to cover. What I read in the book made sense, when I looked at the sky, though I observe the weather, I can't predict it!"

Jim McGhee of the Met Office said Hazelrigg is highly valued, "There aren't many stations like this which have been recording data for 30 years and it's very important."