Recently, quite often you can hear about the fact that acid rain has begun. It occurs when nature, air and water interact with various pollutants. Such precipitation generates a number of negative consequences:
Acid rain occurs due to industrial emissions of chemical compounds, combustion of petroleum products and other fuels. These substances pollute the atmosphere. Then ammonia, sulfur, nitrogen and other substances interact with moisture, causing rain to become acidic.
For the first time in human history, acid rain was recorded in 1872, and by the twentieth century this phenomenon had become very frequent. Acid rain damages the United States and European countries the most. In addition, environmentalists have developed a special map that shows the areas most exposed to dangerous acid rain.
Causes of acid rain
Causes of poisonous rainfall are anthropogenic and natural. As a result of the development of industry and technology, plants, factories and various enterprises began to emit huge amounts of nitrogen and sulfur oxides into the air. So, when sulfur enters the atmosphere, it interacts with water vapor, forming sulfuric acid. The same happens with nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid is formed, falls out along with atmospheric precipitation.
Another source of air pollution is the exhaust gases of motor vehicles. Once in the air, harmful substances are oxidized and fall to the ground in the form of acid rain. The precipitation of nitrogen and sulfur into the atmosphere occurs as a result of the combustion of peat, coal at thermal power plants. A huge amount of sulfur oxide is released into the air during the processing of metals. Nitrogen compounds are emitted during the production of building materials.
A certain part of the sulfur in the atmosphere is of natural origin, for example, after a volcanic eruption, sulfur dioxide is released. Nitrogen-containing substances can be released into the air as a result of the activity of some soil microbes and lightning discharges.
The effects of acid rain
There are many effects of acid rain. People exposed to such rain can ruin their health. This atmospheric phenomenon causes allergies, asthma, cancer. Also, rains pollute rivers and lakes, the water becomes unusable. All inhabitants of the waters are in danger, huge populations of fish may die.
Acid rain falling on the ground pollutes the soil. It exhausts the fertility of the earth, the number of crops decreases. Since precipitation falls over vast areas, it negatively affects trees, which contributes to their drying. As a result of the influence of chemical elements, metabolic processes in trees change, the development of roots is inhibited. Plants become sensitive to temperature changes. After any acid rain, trees can abruptly shed their leaves.
One of the less dangerous consequences of poisonous precipitation is the destruction of stone monuments and architectural objects. All this can lead to the collapse of public buildings and houses of a large number of people.
Serious thought needs to be given to the problem of acid rain. This phenomenon directly depends on the activities of people, and therefore it is necessary to significantly reduce the amount of emissions that pollute the atmosphere. When air pollution is reduced to a minimum, the planet will be less prone to dangerous precipitation such as acid rain.
Solving the environmental problem of acid rain
Acid rain is a global problem. In this regard, it can only be solved if the efforts of a huge number of people are united. One of the main methods for solving this problem is to reduce harmful industrial emissions into water and air. It is necessary to use cleaning filters and facilities at all enterprises. The most long-term, expensive, but also the most promising solution to the problem is the creation of environmentally friendly enterprises in the future. All modern technologies should be used taking into account the assessment of the impact of activities on the environment.
Modern modes of transport bring a lot of harm to the atmosphere. It is unlikely that people will give up cars in the near future. Today, however, new environmentally friendly vehicles are being introduced. These are hybrids and electric vehicles. Cars like Tesla have already won recognition in different countries of the world. They run on special batteries. Electric scooters are also gradually gaining popularity. In addition, do not forget about traditional electric transport: trams, trolleybuses, metro, electric trains.
Don’t forget that air pollution is caused by people themselves. There is no need to think that someone else is to blame for this problem, and this specifically does not depend on you. It’s not quite right. Of course, one person is not able to release toxic and chemical substances into the atmosphere in large quantities. However, the regular use of passenger cars leads to the fact that you regularly release exhaust gases into the atmosphere, and this subsequently becomes the cause of acid rain.
Unfortunately, not all people are aware of such an environmental problem as acid rain. To date, there are many films, articles in magazines and books about this problem, so each person can easily fill this gap, realize the problem and begin to act for the benefit of solving it.
