What is Acid Rain?

When pollutants like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere and react with water, oxygen, and other substances to generate sulfuric and nitric acids, acid rain is a type of precipitation that occurs. These pollutants are often emitted by power plants, factories, and vehicles that burn fossil fuels, and can travel long distances through the air before being deposited back to the ground in the form of acid rain.

Acid rain can have negative impacts on the environment and on human health. It can damage forests, crops, and other vegetation, and can also harm aquatic life by lowering the pH of streams, lakes, and other bodies of water. Additionally, acid rain can degrade the quality of the air and water that people breathe as well as damage statues, buildings, and other metal or stone constructions.

Reduced emissions of the chemicals that generate acid rain are important to lessen its occurrence. This can be done in a number of ways, such as by making fossil fuel combustion processes more efficient, using cleaner technologies and fuels, and enforcing stronger emission regulations. 

Although some chemicals that can create acid rain are released by rotting vegetation and erupting volcanoes, most acid rain is a result of human activity.

The largest sources include industry, cars, and coal-burning power stations. Through microbiological processes, earthquakes, natural fires, lightning, and volcanic eruptions, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere. However, the majority of sulphur dioxide emissions are brought on by human activity owing to the burning of fuel in industries and power plants, and half of the nitrogen oxide emissions are brought on by gases created by automobiles. Similar to this, but to a lesser level, ammonia is produced by intensive animal rearing due to the breakdown of organic materials.

These three pollutants, which are capable of travelling great distances from their point of origin, oxidise when they come into contact with the atmosphere, producing sulphuric acid and nitric acid.