Acid rain is formed when sulfur and nitrogen compounds emitted from fossil fuel combustion react with water in the atmosphere to form acids. These acids fall to earth in rain, snow, or dry particles. Acid rain harms plants by leaching nutrients from soil and making aquatic environments too acidic for fish and plant life. It also damages buildings and infrastructure. To prevent acid rain, emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides must be reduced by using cleaner energy sources and improving vehicle fuel efficiency.
2. Acid Rain, as the name suggests, can be said as the
precipitation of acid in the form of rain in the simplest manner. When
atmospheric pollutants like oxides of nitrogen and sulphur react with
rainwater and come down with the rain, then this results in Acid Rain.
What is Acid Rain?
3. Causes of Acid Rain
When fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas are burnt, chemicals like sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides are produced. These chemicals react with water and other
chemicals in the air to form sulfuric acid, nitric acid and other harmful pollutants like
sulfates and nitrates.
4. These acid pollutants spread upwards into the atmosphere, and are carried by air
currents, to finally return to the ground in the form of acid rain, fog or snow. The
corrosive nature of acid rain causes many forms of environmental damage.
5. Effects of Acid Rain
Acid rain dissolves and washes away nutrients in the soil which are needed by
plants.
6. • Acid rain indirectly affects plants by removing nutrients from the soil in which they
grow.
• Acid rain that falls or flows as ground water to reach rivers, lakes and wetlands,
causes the water in them to become acidic. This affects plant and animal life in
aquatic ecosystems.
• Acid rain also has far reached effects on wildlife. By adversely affecting one
species, the entire food chain is disrupted, ultimately endangering the entire
ecosystem.
7. • Acid rain and dry acid deposition damages buildings, automobiles, and other
structures made of stone or metal.
8. Prevention of Acid Rain
The best way to stop the formation of acid rain is to reduce
the emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the
atmosphere.
This can be achieved by using less energy from fossil fuels
in power plants, vehicles