Acid Rain Effect

Acid Rain is the rainfall which is highly acidic in nature, that it causes material atmospheric and environmental depletion. It majorly affects the plants, aquatic creatures, infrastructure etc. Being acidic means it contains elevated level of Hydrogen ions i.e. low pH. Although, normal rain water is already slight acidic with a pH range of 5.3-6.0, because carbon dioxide and water present in the air react together to form carbonic acid, which is a Weak acid. When the pH level of rain water falls below this range, it becomes Acid Rain.

Both natural and man-made sources are known to play a role in the formation of acid rain. But, it is mainly caused by combustion of fossil fuels which results in emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen

Acid rain is a type of rain that is harmful for the environment.

Acid rain includes rain, snow, hail, fog, or dew that is high in acid pollutants, especially sulphuric and nitric acid. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which reacts with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.

The reasons of presence of these acids in air are natural and man-made. Volcanic eruptions and decaying vegetation being the natural reasons and pollution due to combustion of fossil fuels and from road transportation, chimneys, industrialisation etc being the man-made reasons of Acid Rain.

Acid Rain has been shown to have a bad impact on forests, water as well as soil. It kills insects and marine life-forms as well as causes damage to buildings and have drastic impacts on human health.

Acid rain also poisons rivers, lakes and other water bodies. Many buildings and monuments have also been damaged by acid rain since the acid damages calcium carbonate stone.

The way by which Acid Rain could be prevented is by start searching for cleaner forms of energy, such as the use of solar power, recycling resources and by planting more & more

Both volcanoes and decaying vegetation are the natural reasons for the release of gases that result in the formation of acid rain. However, the majority of gases come from man-made sources, such as fossil fuel combustion.

Effects:

Acid Rain has alarmingly negative effects which can be described as:

 Acid Rain can cause respiratory problems or make breathing more difficult.

 Acid rain can cause building materials to decay more rapidly and paint more likely to peel.

 The acidity also wears down stone statues, making them appear older and reducing their value. For ex. The current situation of Taj Mahal.

 Acid rain also releases excess Aluminium into the soil around trees, which makes difficult for them to take up the water. For ex. In Germany, there is a place called the “Black Forest”, which received its name because acid rain caused the trees to drop their needles and are now simply turned to black trunks and