Acid Rain Facts
Need to know more about the acid rain facts? Then this article will give you all the information that you need about this rain. Read on for more information…
What with the threat of global warming and the ice bergs melting and the flooding of the coastal areas, I am sure you must have heard about acid rain. This kind of rain can destroy living life on earth and they also have a major impact on the sea, the air and in short the whole environment. Want to learn some more interesting acid rain facts? Want to learn what are the acid rain causes? Then read more in this article and you will know more.
Acid Rain Facts and Figures
Given below are some acid rain facts and figures which will help you to learn more about this serious environmental issue.
Causes of Acid Rain The main cause of acid rain is air pollution. There are several man made as well as natural causes which leads to air pollution. Some of the man made causes I am sure you must be knowing; burning something, exhaust from cars, smoking, burning of fuel etc. The natural causes are usually the chemicals released from a volcano. The volcano releases sulfur dioxide which causes acid rain. Smoke released from factories or cars, releases some invisible gases which are harmful to the environment. Some of the main gases are nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide and when they mix with the water droplets that are present in the atmosphere, they form nitric acid and sulphuric acid, and when they fall in the form of rain, they are called acid rain. Now that we know what causes acid rain
, let us now see what are the various forms of acid rain.
Forms of Acid Rain There’s another acid rain fun fact. Some people think that acid rain is actually ‘rain’. But I am sorry to say it’s not. Depending upon the temperature of a particular location, the ‘rain’ might also be ‘snow’. Wet regions have acid rain, while very cold areas have acid snow or acid fog. Dry regions generally gets acid gas or maybe acid dust. These are the various forms of acid rain. Now that’s one more of the many facts about acid rain
that you learned today.
Impact of Acid Rain on Forestation Acid rain have a major impact on forestation as well as on crops. Trees are greatly harmed by acid rain. Some experts have pointed out that in several parts of the world, the trees in the forests are dying away due to acid rain. Leaves of the plants have a waxy layered protection on them. The acid rain damages this layer and causes harm to the trees. In the process of photosynthesis, water is turned to gas, but when acid rain starts destroying the plant, gas is seeping into the leaves now, thus taking the place of the water. What happens next is that the plant cannot take in carbon dioxide and thus it starts dying. Now you know about the acid rain effects on plants
. Let us learn something more about it’s effect on plants.
Some other acid rain facts are that it deposits certain harmful or toxic metals in the forest and that it also has a major impact on the soil. The rain consists of some toxic metals such as zinc, lead, chromium, copper etc. When there is acid rain, these metals are released and they stunt the growth of the trees which includes the moss, the algae, and even the nitrogen fixing bacterias. These are the ones that helps the forest to grow. The soil contains important nutrients that are required for the plant to grow. Acid rain releases aluminum in the soil which destroys these nutrients and thus destroying the plants.
Impact of Acid Rain on Water
Acid rain shows a pH balance below the 5.6 level. When the pH balance goes below 7, it means that the substance is more acidic. When acid rain mixes with water, it is harmful for the sea animals. It kills them and when they die, they decompose and they remain at the bottom of the sea. This causes further harm to the water and also to it’s inhabitants.
Impact of Acid Rain on Humans Another acid rain effect
is on human health. Acid rain causes respiratory problems in humans. Whatever we eat or drink or even breathe might have come in contact with the acid and when we take in this, it causes harm to our health. Records shows that each year, in United States and Canada, nearly 550 premature death takes place due to acid rain. That’s another acid rain facts for kids as well as for adults.
Some Other Acid Rain Facts
- Acid rain can corrode buildings and statues. It also corrodes marbles. Hence the Taj Mahal in India is at a great risk.
- Some areas can become very foggy mainly due to acid rain.
- No matter how healthy a person is, but acid rain can cause health problems to anyone.
- Most of the acid rain occurs mainly because of the coal burner plants in the Western countries.
There are some acid rain solutions which we need to learn more about. If we follow them, then we can reduce it and help our environment. Now that we know about the various acid rain facts, and also what are the major impacts on the environment and on our health, we can take the necessary steps to prevent it from occurring.
