Question

What is acid rain? What are its harmful effects?

Answer 1

Acid rain - When the oxides of sulfur and nitrogen dioxides are dissolved in rainwater due to air pollution and form acid that reaches the earth's surface and the pH of the rainwater drops below 5.6, it is called acid rain.

The harmful effect of acid rain -

• Acid rain is very harmful to agriculture, plants, and animals. It washes away all nutrients which are required for the growth and survival of plants. Acid rain affects agriculture in the way it alters the composition of the soil.
• It causes respiratory issues in animals and humans.
• When acid rain falls down and flows into the rivers and ponds it affects the aquatic ecosystem. It alters the chemical composition of the water, to a form that is actually harmful to the aquatic ecosystem to survive and causes water pollution.
• Acid rain also causes the corrosion of water pipes, which further results in the leaching of heavy metals such as iron, lead, and copper into drinking water.
• It damages the buildings and monuments made up of stones and metals.
• Taj Mahal, one of the 7 wonders of the world, is largely affected by acid rain. The city of Agra has many industries which emit the oxides of sulfur and nitrogen into the atmosphere. People continue to use low-quality coal and firewood as domestic fuel, adding to this problem. Acid rain has the following reaction with the marble.
• $\underset{\mathrm{Carbonate}}{\underset{\mathrm{Calcium}}{{\mathrm{CaCO}}_3\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}}+\underset{\mathrm{Acid}}{\underset{\mathrm{Sulphuric}}{{\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}}\to \underset{\mathrm{Sulphate}}{\underset{\mathrm{Calcium}}{{\mathrm{CaSO}}_4\left(\mathrm{s}\right)}}+\underset{\mathrm{Water}}{{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Dioxide}}{\underset{\mathrm{Carbon}}{{\mathrm{CO}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)}}$