Unlike regular rain, which brings vital moisture to plants, acid rain causes damage to the environment due to the acidic compounds (hence the name) contained in it.
Those unfamiliar with acid rain may be asking how it differs from regular rain and how exactly it comes to be.
Acid rain occurs when urbanized smog, toxic compounds and chemicals released by factories combine with the moisture in the upper layers of the atmosphere.
A chemical reaction results and various chemical compounds form, which then fall to earth in the form of rain.
The energy industry has the most devastating effect on the environment. The sulfur compounds sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, released by thermal power plants, oxidize and hydrolyze in the atmosphere, creating sulfuric acid, which then pours down to earth as acid rain.
The situation is similar with nitrogen compounds - oxides and peroxides - which turn into nitric acid when they react with water.
The sulfur that's released into the atmosphere is not to be underestimated. When it makes contact with water, it turns into sulfuric acid proper.
Acid rain is one of the plagues of our modern way of life, a direct result of human activity.
Excessive atmospheric pollution results in acid rain's negative consequences on freshwater ecosystems, agroecological systems, as well as the erosion of Earth's crust, the killing of fish, disruption in food chains and crop damage.
