Acid Rain

What is Acid Rain and how is it formed?
Acid rain is a type of rain that is very polluted and acidic. The acid in acid rain comes from pollution. Fossil fuels like coals, when burned are turned into fuel for electricity. These fumes are harmful to our earth. They slowly drift up to our clouds and mixes with the other chemicals that are already there in rain. When this pollution is mixed with the chemicals in rain, the rain turns into acid. Normal rainwater has a pH of 5.6. When the pH level of rainwater goes below 5.6, it is considered acid rain.

Acid rain is mostly caused by human emissions of sulfur and nitrogen compounds which react in the atmosphere to produce acids. Acid rain also happens with the fumes of cars and trucks. Petrol is a type of fossil fuel that is used for energy for vehicles. When the fumes of petroleum are exerted, they harm the Earth. The fumes increase extremely when the AC is on.

Why is Acid Rain bad?
Acidic rain is quite harmful and corrosive and has harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. It will not only hurt living things but also hurt non-living things like monuments and statues that are irreplaceable. For example, with acid rain, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India has gotten holes in its marble and the marble has also turned very black.

Can we prevent Acid Rain & How?
There are ways that we can prevent acid rain. There are various ways in which we can prevent acid rain. For example.

1. By using less electricity. For example, when we leave a room, we can turn off the lights. Or we can close the refrigerator door when it’s not needed. We can also use the AC only when we need it like in the car or only for short time. The more the temperature the less the fumes are exerted.

2. We can also use bio fuels for our cars. An example is research is being conducted for extraction of diesel from getropha plant seeds.

3. Reduce trips by car instead cycle or walk to nearby places.

4. Install fluorescent light bulbs.

5. Stick to the 3 R’s i.e. reduce, Reuse and recycle


Is acid rain all over India?
No, acid rain is not all over India but it is in some places like Nagpur, Agra etc. In Agra the case of pollution has come from the chemical factories that are there. Of course it is simple to just think of shutting the factories down but then many people would be losing their jobs. So now the government has decided that new factories should not be opened but the old ones can run for a short period of time.

Was acid rain always there?
No, actually acid rain is a very new and fresh topic in our world. It is a side effect of Global Warming. Because of the greenhouse gases and acidic compositions in the air, acid rain has started very recently.