What is acid rain? How are the effects of acid rain?

Acid rain was first discovered in 1948 in Sweden. Acid rain is the phenomenon of rain water with acidity (pH below 5.6) and in the composition of rainwater with nitrogen and sulfur. The root cause of acid rain comes from people consuming a lot of natural materials such as coal, oil . for the process of life and production development.

Acid rain can also originate in volcanoes, forest fires or thunderstorms when SO ₂ and NO ₂ gas combine with water vapor in the atmosphere and form acid under two forms: dry as gas and wet as acid rain, Snow, fog.

The process of forming acid rain.

Harm of acid rain

The consumption of coal, oil, releases large amounts of toxic gases, sulfur dioxide (SO ₂ ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO ₂ ). These gases, after being discharged into the environment, are dissolved with water vapor in the air, forming sulfuric acid (H ₂ SO ₄ ) and nitric acid (HNO ₃ ). When rain, acid particles mixed into the water, the pH of the rainwater decreased. It can dissolve some metal dust and metal oxide suspended in the air like lead oxide . and become toxic to plants, animals and people.

Acid rain adversely affects the soil as underground rainwater increases soil acidity.

1. Acid rain adversely affects water bodies (ponds, lakes) .Flows due to acid rain pouring into lakes and ponds will cause the pH of lakes and ponds to decrease rapidly, organisms in lakes, ponds weaken or die completely.Lakes and ponds become dead water bodies.
2. Acid rain adversely affects the soil because underground rainwater increases soil acidity, dissolves soil elements needed for plants such as calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), . causing soil degradation. poorly developed trees.The leaves with acid rain will be "burned" speckled, sprouts will die dry, making plants' photosynthetic capacity decrease, low productivity.
3. Acid rain also destroys materials made of metal such as iron, copper, zinc, . reducing the life of construction works.
4. The direct effects of pollution by acid gases on people include respiratory diseases such as asthma, whooping cough and other symptoms such as headache, eye pain, sore throat . Harmful effects indirectly caused by bioaccumulation of metals in the human body from food sources contaminated with these metals due to acid rain.
5. Sulphate particles, nitrates that form in the atmosphere will limit visibility.Acid mist affects the ability to spread sunlight.In the Arctic, it affected the development of lichen, thus affecting the reindeer and snow deer populations - the lichen species.