Articles.
The ill-effects of Acid Rain
by Paaus Pawar
Definition of Acid Rain
Precipitation that has a pH of less than that of natural rainwater (which is about 5.6 due to dissolved carbon dioxide).
It is formed when sulphur dioxides and nitrogen oxides, as gases or fine particles in the atmosphere, combine with water vapor and precipitate as sulphuric acid or nitric acid in rain, snow, or fog.
Causes of Acid Rain
Emissions from volcanoes and from biological processes that occur on the land, in wetlands, and in the oceans contribute acid-producing gases to the atmosphere
Effects of acidic deposits have been detected in glacial ice thousands of years old in remote parts of the globe
The principal cause of acid rain is from human sources
Industrial factories, power-generating plants and vehicles
Sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen are released during the fuel burning process (i.e. combustion)