Effects of Acid Rain on Plants | Effects of Acid Rain on Aquatic Life | Effects of Acid Rain on Human Health | Effects of Acid Rain on Soil | Effects of Acid Rain on Buildings

Effect on Plants:

An acid rain damage plant leaves (Necrosis). It leaches the minerals or nutrients from the soil through surface runoff and affects the growth and development of crops and forests.

    Harmful Effects on Aquatic Life:

• Acid rain increases acidity in water bodies
• It stops the hatching of fish eggs
• It changes the population ratio of fish
• It affects the ecosystem

Effects on Human Health:

Acid rain can cause Asthma and Bronchitis disease. In the atmosphere, both SO2 and NOx react to form fine sulfate and nitrate particles that can be inhaled into the lungs.

Effects on Soil:

Acid rain affects the chemistry of soil and the availability of minerals in the soil. Nutrients availability has a strong relation with soil pH. When the pH of water decreases metals solubility decreases. Acid rain leaches the mineral ions through surface runoff or it pushes deeper into the soil and finally plants roots cannot get minerals from deeper horizons of soil which affects their growth.

Effects on the Built Environment:

Calcium carbonate is the major component of marble and it easily reacts with sulfuric acid (transported by acid rains) and forms calcium sulfate according to the reaction:

CaCO₃ + H₂SO₄ → CaSO₄ + CO₂ + H₂O

Calcium sulfate (CaSO₄) is a thousandfold more soluble in water than Calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) due to which it is easily washed out by the rain.

    Fig: Material removal from the artifact surfaces erases its characters.

Conclusion:

Acid Rain is a very serious and dangerous issue facing the modern world. To cope with acid rain there is a dire need to reduce gaseous emissions (burning of fossil fuel), find alternative sources of energy, protect the resources and restore the damage done by acid rain.