Scotland's weather has frequently been made a subject of fun, not least by Scots themselves. The perception of Scotland's climate as unwelcoming has even been a badge of pride, with the bracing air being said to make the men of Scotland hardy, and the women rosy-cheeked. In this feature, we will ask whether Scotland's climate is under appreciated, take a look at how enquiring Scots have shaped our understanding of the science of weather, and examine how modern Scotland is responding to the alarming discoveries their predecessors have made.

When one considers that even Scotland's southerly cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh lie further north than Copenhagen and Moscow to the East, and Calgary and Labrador to the west, it is surprising that our climate is as mild as it is. Washed by warm Atlantic currents rising from the Caribbean, we enjoy more clement conditions than inland nations much further from the pole. Many parts of Scotland have over 1,400 hours of sunshine annually, more than Manchester or Birmingham. Not that an abundance of sunshine is always a benefit in any case: not for Scotland the summer droughts that are fast becoming an annual occurrence elsewhere. Recent research indicates that many tourists coming to Scotland from warmer climes positively relish the mild temperatures and the respite they provide from the oppressive heat of their native summers.

And while we may not always welcome the rain when it arrives on a Saturday afternoon, the watery bounty nature so freely bestows is the basis of some of our major industries: watering Scotland's rich, green grass that is the foundation of our ancient tradition of livestock farming, it has made Scottish meat the envy of the world; the purity and abundance of Scotland's water is credited with bestowing the unique character of Scotch whisky; and Scottish water leads the field in Britain's £1.7-billion-a-year bottled water market.

Sometimes fresh and expansive, sometimes dark with omen, the skies of Scotland are the ever-changing backdrop to the spectacular natural scenery that tempts visitors from all corners of the world to Scotland. The rolling clouds that tumble down the glen, the mist that shrouds the mountains on an early morning, to climb through and out above the clouds to a peak bathed in sun: these are as much a part of the matchless landscape as the mountains themselves.

Understanding the capricious whims of the weather is one of mankind's longest-standing ambitions. From the earliest attempts to appease the angry thunder gods to up-to-the-minute satellite imaging we have moved by faltering steps to a fuller picture of Earth's climate, and its startling fragility, and Scottish scientists have been, and remain, at the centre of the never ending struggle for knowledge in the field of climate science as much as in any other.

The very basis of our understanding of meteorology depends on the invention of an ingenious Scot. Thomas Stevenson followed his father Robert into the civil engineering profession, and specialised in the design of lighthouses, but it was applying his powers to the study of the atmosphere that would make his name immortal. The Stevenson Screen, which Thomas invented, is at the heart of every modern weather station. The enclosure Stevenson designed, protects instruments from rain and direct sunlight, while still allowing the air to flow freely, so its temperature, pressure and humidity can be accurately measured. The invention came at a time when the behaviour of heat and gasses – the foundation of climatology – was only beginning to be understood: other Scottish scientists, such as Lord Kelvin, James Clerk Maxwell and J. Macquorn Rankine, had founded the new science of thermodynamics, and their ideas were beginning to be applied to the study of the atmosphere. In the decades following the introduction of the Stevenson screen, the long dreamed-of goal of accurately predicting the weather began to become a reality. Thomas Stevenson's achievements were not limited to the field of engineering, though. He and his wife Margaret raised a fine son, who though he did not take up the family trade, did find fame as one of the greatest authors of his age: he was none other than Robert Louis Stevenson.

Another Scots visionary who stands out in the history of climate science is James Croll. A self-taught physicist and astronomer, Croll had a varied career working as a wheelwright, a tea merchant, an hotelier and a salesman of insurance before he started work as a janitor at Anderson College (which has since become the University of Strathclyde), a position he took to allow him access to the books he needed to further his studies. Croll developed a theory to account for the coming and going of ice ages in the geological past by irregularities in the Earth's orbit. His ideas attracted attention, and he continued his research as the keeper of maps at the Geological Survey of Scotland. He published several widely acclaimed books and papers on his theories, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. But Croll was ahead of his time. By the beginning of the twentieth century his work was thought to be discredited, and it was not until the 1970s that he was vindicated, his theories re-emerging in a modified form in the modern understanding of ice ages.

As our comprehension of the Earth's climate and how it changes over time have developed, scientists have come to realise the potential of human activity to affect it. The effect of the carbon released into the air by the burning of fossil fuels is warming the planet, and if alternatives are not found the future of the climate could become dangerously unpredictable. The search is on for the next generation of energy supplies, and Scotland's natural resources make her ideally placed to lead the way in renewable power. Key to sustainable power generation is exploiting the energy the weather throws at us every day, in wind and waves and in the tides of the ocean. Scotland sits positioned to harness the power of the Atlantic, and has the potential to supply a quarter of Europe's wind and tidal power needs. At the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, the Scottish Government wants to develop further infrastructure at the wave test site at Billia Croo to enable prototypes to be tested there. When completed, energy company CRE intends to deploy four devices which will make this site the largest wave farm in the world.

Scotland is already meeting 16% of its own demand for electricity from renewable resources, making us a world leader in the field. To help build on this achievement, and to advance a more sustainable future for the whole world, the Scottish Government has instituted the £10 million Saltire Prize for advances in clean energy. It is hoped that the prize will encourage research in the same way that high-profile international prizes spurred the development of aviation and spaceflight. The prize is one part of an overarching sustainable development strategy that aims to encourage action at every level of the community to make a greener Scotland.

If we are to rise to the challenge of climate change and fulfil our duty to unborn generations, we can point to inspirational figures who shaped environmental consciousness: inspirational Scots like John Muir. John Muir was one of the great thinkers and activists who first began the conservation movement. Born in Dunbar in 1838, he was fascinated by nature as a boy, exploring the countryside and hunting for birds' nests. When he moved to the United States, he fell in love with its wilderness. He wandered widely in the untouched spaces of that vast land and wrote of his experiences. As time went on he became increasingly alarmed by the encroachment of industry on the wilds he so adored, and he became a campaigner for preservation. His efforts saved the Yosemite Valley from encroaching farmland when he persuaded Congress to create Yosemite National Park and founded the Sierra Club, which remains one of the USA's most influential environmental organisations.