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Acid rain is the term used for rain that contains high levels of concentration of hydrogen ions. This water is acidic in nature rather than being neutral. Along with the rain, the air, soil, plants, and other organisms comprise our ecosystem. Everything in our ecosystem is interconnected. Acid rain is a consequence of pollution caused by humans. The damage to this one part of the ecosystem can prove to be really dangerous for us and our survival. Nitrogen and Sulphur particles in the environment get mixed up with the rain and undergo a chemical reaction and eventually resulting in acid rain. In this article, we will have a look at the harmful effects of acid rain on humans and the environment.
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Read Also: Air Pollution
What is Acid Rain?
Acid rain is a result of a chemical reaction that occurs when various compounds such as oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide are released into the air to get mixed with the rain. It simply refers to the precipitation of acid in the form of rain when the falling rain mixes with the atmospheric pollutants. The deposition of the acid takes place in two forms which are wet and dry.
- Dry deposition refers to the collection of polluting gases and particles which stick to the ground through smoke and dust.
- Wet deposition refers to a form of precipitation that is responsible for the removal of acid from the environment and depositing them on the Earth’s surface.
The nitrogen oxides and the sulphur in the atmosphere come from:
- Oil refineries and manufacturing industries.
- The burning of fossil fuels in order to facilitate the generation of electricity.
- These pollutants also come from electric generators.
- Heavy pieces of equipment, types of machinery, and vehicles also emit these harmful environmental pollutants.
Effect of Acid Rain
Acid rain is very harmful to plants, humans, infrastructure, and our aquatic life as it disrupts our ecosystem as a whole. Some of the adverse effects of acid rain are:
- Effect of Acid Rain on Aquatic Life and Animals
Acid rain is responsible for changing the pH level of the surface water. This alteration can damage the aquatic life inside the surface water. It increases the concentration of aluminium in the surface water. Various aquatic life forms including fishes are highly sensitive to acid water.
If the pH level of water drops to 5, the water conditions will prove to be inhospitable for the hatching of fish eggs. Young organisms can’t survive in these conditions. When the pH level gets lower than even 5, the survival of even the big fishes becomes difficult. Therefore, we can say that acid rain can cause serious damage to our aquatic biodiversity.
There are certain types of lakes with limestone basement rocks that are resilient towards acid rain as this basement rock contains certain carbonate minerals that act as a buffer in order to maintain the pH level of surface water in the water bodies. However, acid rain can pose a serious threat even in such ecosystems.
- Effect of Acid Rain on Materials
Dry Deposition refers to the collection of acidic dust particles. When these dry acidic particles fall on the Earth along with the rain, the sulphuric acid and the nitric acid fall on the building, statues, and various monuments, in turn, damaging the materials of these infrastructures. These acidic components of rain corrode the metal and therefore leads to a quick deterioration of the stone and the paint of these infrastructures. This leads to a high cost of maintenance, repairing, replacement, and loss of detailing of monuments, stones, and other vintage structures.
- Effects of Acid Rain on Soil
There are various chemical and biological processes that take place inside the soil. These processes are seriously hampered by acid rain. The penetration of this acid rain inside the soil lowers its pH value and also increases the concentration of hydronium and hydrogen ions. These ions mobilize the toxins inside the soil such as aluminium.
The microbes present inside the soil can not tolerate and thus fails to adapt to the acidic environment of the soil and eventually die. The enzymes in nature are denatured due to the acidic nature of the soil. The ions present in the soil due to the acid rain pull away the essential nutrients present in the soil such as magnesium.
Soil Acidification
Soil Acidification refers to the accumulation of hydrogen cations inside the soil. This decreases the value of pH of the soil. Acid rain causes soil acidification. The level of damage depends on the level and frequency of the acid rain and the rate of soil acidification. The high frequency of acid rain dissolves the vital minerals and nutrients that eventually destroy the plants.
When acid rain falls on the leaves of a plant, it also destroys and dries the leaf cuticle which is waxy. It affects the ability of a plant to perform photosynthesis as it destroys its chloroplast organelles.
- Effects of Acid Rain on Oceans
Acid rains also result in the acidification of the oceans. Although the impact is not quite severe, still it hampers the oceanic life form as it makes it difficult for specific coastal life species in order to form their exoskeletons that are necessary for the survival of these species. It can lead to a loss of oceanic biodiversity.
This acidification can cause severe consequences for the oceanic food chain and food webs. For instance, if acid rain impacts and dissolves the exoskeletons of corals that are formed of limestone, it can affect their population in that specific area. Hence, it will also affect the population of the immediate predators of these species.
- Effect of Acid Rain on Human Beings
The sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide present in the air can prove to be harmful to human beings. It can lead to respiratory and breathing problems in human beings. The fine particles of atmospheric pollutants can lead to a variety of medical conditions such as asthma or bronchitis.
The infrastructure built by humans is also adversely affected by acid rain. For instance, the marble of the Taj Mahal is impacted adversely due to the acid rain. This is because the acid in the rain reacts with the marble or calcium carbonate in the infrastructure in order to form gypsum. This is a flaked structure and can damage the aesthetic quality of monuments and statues severely.
Prevention of Acid Rain
The acid rain can mainly be kept in check by:
- Keeping a check on the emissions levels of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen.
- Being aware of the consequence of acid rain and the impact it has on our survival.
- Practicing measures to reduce the pollution levels in the atmosphere.
Read Also: Sulphur Dioxide
Things to Remember
- Acid rain is the term used for rain that contains high levels of concentration of hydrogen ions.
- Acid rain is a consequence of pollution caused by humans.
- Acid rain is a result of a chemical reaction that occurs when various compounds such as oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide are released into the air to get mixed with the rain.
- The damage to this one part of the ecosystem can prove to be really dangerous for us and our survival.
- Acid rain is very harmful to plants, humans, infrastructure, and our aquatic life as it disrupts our ecosystem as a whole.
- If the pH level of water drops to 5, the water conditions will prove to be inhospitable for the hatching of fish eggs and make the survival of young organisms difficult.
- The acidic components of rain corrode the metal and therefore leads to a quick deterioration of the stone and the paint of the infrastructures.
- The ions present in the soil due to the acid rain pull away the essential nutrients present in the soil such as magnesium.
- Oceanic acidification can cause severe consequences for the oceanic food chain and food webs.
Sample Questions
Ques. What do you understand by acid rain? What leads to this?(3 marks)
Ans. Acid rain is a result of a chemical reaction that occurs when various compounds such as oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide are released into the atmosphere and go high up in the air to get mixed with the rain.
It simply refers to the precipitation of acid in the form of rain when the falling rain mixes with the atmospheric pollutants.
Ques. What are the various ways to prevent acid rain?(3 marks)
Ans. Acid rain can be prevented by:
- Using renewable sources of energy can lead to fewer emissions that are harmful to nature and hence reduce the possibility of acid rain.
- Use of alternative sources of energy such as solar power and wind power.
- Other sources of electricity can be used and measures should be taken to reduce the pollution in the air to prevent acid rain.
Ques. List down the harmful effects of acid rain.(3 marks)
Ans. Acid rain is harmful in various ways as it disrupts the flow of our ecosystem. It also has adverse effects as:
- Acid rain inflicts damage to aquatic life and various other organisms.
- The acidic components of rain corrode the metal and therefore leads to a quick deterioration of the stone and the paint of the infrastructures built by humans.
- Acid rain also impacts human health.
- It disrupts the food web and food chain of organisms in the ocean.
Ques. How are plants affected by acid rain? Are these damages irreversible? (3 marks)
Ans. The acid in the rain damages the surface of the leaves when the rain hits them. It therefore also, in turn, reduces the ability of plants and trees in order to withstand severe climatic conditions which hampers the process of reproduction, germination, and growth of plants.
When the acid rain penetrates deep into the soil, it depletes the level of nutrients inside it while also lowering the concentration of pH in the soil. These trees also find difficulty in surviving adverse climatic conditions such as droughts, extremely cold weather, and various diseases.
These damages are reversible in nature. But these changes take a really long time, it may take even hundreds of years to get reversed in order for the nutrients in the soil to get replenished again through basic level processes which take a long time. An example of one such process is weathering.
Ques. What is soil acidification?(3 marks)
Ans. There are various chemical and biological processes that take place inside the soil. These processes are seriously hampered by acid rain. Soil Acidification refers to the accumulation of hydrogen cations inside the soil. This decreases the value of pH of the soil. Acid rain causes soil acidification.
The microbes present inside the soil can not tolerate and thus fails to adapt to the acidic environment of the soil and eventually die. The enzymes in nature are denatured due to the acidic nature of the soil. The ions present in the soil due to the acid rain pull away the essential nutrients present in the soil such as magnesium.
When acid rain falls on the leaves of a plant, it also destroys and dries the leaf cuticle which is waxy. It affects the ability of a plant to perform photosynthesis as it destroys its chloroplast organelles.
Ques. How is human health affected by acid rain?(3 marks)
Ans. When the pollutants present in the air are inhaled by humans and they come in touch with them, their health is severely impacted by this effect.
The oxides of nitrogen and sulphur react with the air particles and affect the human breathing capacity and can cause various respiratory diseases.
The nitrogen oxide emissions can cause depletion in the ozone layer which in turn is also highly dangerous for human health.
These pollutants mix with the air makes it hazy and hence reducing and affecting visibility levels.
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