Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain
Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain: In this post, we will learn about Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain In Bed 2nd Year there is one of the most important questions comes from Environment Education. You will learn about Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain Teaching is a social and professional activity. It is a process of development. Teaching is a system of actions that induce learning through interpersonal relationships. and all the rest you will study in this Blog.
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Acid Rain
The term ‘acid rain’ was first used by Robert Young in 1872. The word meaning acid rain is that there is more acid in rain than in water. Acid is an environmental global problem. The problem has reached a dangerous point in USA, UK, Germany, Canada, and Norway.
The oxides of sulphur and nitrogen are important gaseous pollutants of air. These are produced mainly by the combustion of fossil fuels, smelters, power plants, automobile exhausts, domestic fires, etc. Swept up into the atmosphere these oxides can travel thousands of kilometers. The longer they stay in the atmosphere, the more likely they are to be oxidized into acids. Sulphuric acids and nitric acid are the two main acids, which dissolve in the water in the atmosphere and fall to the ground as acid rain or may remain in the atmosphere in clouds and fogs. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
Causes of Acid Rain
Acidification of the environment is a man-made phenomenon. The acid rain is a cocktail of H2SO4. The ratio of the two may vary depending on the relative quantities of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen emitted. On average 60-70% of the acidity is ascribed to H2SO4 and 30-40% to HNO3. The acid rain problem has dramatically increased due to industrialization. The burning of fossil fuels for power generation contributes to almost 60-70% of total SO2 emitted globally.
The mission of NOx from anthropogenic sources ranges between 20-90 million tons annually over the globe. As oxides travel a long distance and during their journey in the atmosphere they may undergo physical and chemical transformations to produce more hazardous products. Acid rains have assumed a global ecological problem.
Acid rain is of two types-(i) Dry Acid rain and (ii) Wet Acid Rain.
- Dry Acid Rain. The particles of sulphate and nitrates are deposited on the earth’s surface, it is known as dry acid rain.
- Wet Acid Rain. When sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids are mixed with atmospheric water more acidic, then is called acidic rain. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
Effects of Acid Rain
The acid rain influences both the biotic and abiotic environments. It has adverse effects on different aspects of any aspects of the environment-(a) Vegetation or biomes, (b) Water sources, and (c) Buildings
- Effect on Vegetation. The following are the adverse effects of acid rain on vegetation.
(i) In West Germany 16% of the forest has been destroyed by acid rain and 80 lack acres of land are badly affected by acid rain. The plants become very slow. The chlorophyll of leaves is reduced and these become yellow.
(ii) The process of photosynthesis or carbon assimilation in plants becomes very slow. The chlorophyll of leaves is reduced and these became yellow. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
(iii) The soil bacteria are affected adversely and the fertility of society is decreased. The growths of plants are affected adversely.
(iv) The acids rainwater mixed with soil content from poisonous compounds. The drinking water causes the diseases such as digestion, respiratory system, etc. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
- Effects on Water Resources. The seawater, rivers, lake, and ponds water become acidic. The fishes can not survive in acidic water. In Sweden, there is no fish in 15000 lakes. Due to water flood of rivers the vegetation is destroyed. The ecosystem is also affected adversely. The aluminum is separated from the soil due to acidic rain and affects the water resources. The fishes can not survive in such poisonous water.
- Effects on Buildings. The acid rain effects adversely the building material such as sand, stone, marble, etc. The acid rain creates small holes in the walls. The shining of Taj Mahal marble has been reduced by acid rain.
Problems and Impacts of Acid Rain
(i) Acid rains create complex problems their impacts are far-reaching. They increase soil acidity, affecting land flora and fauna.
(ii) They cause acidification of lakes and streams affecting aquatic life, crop productivity, and human health.
(iii) They also corrode buildings, monuments, statues, bridges, fences, railings, etc. British Parliament building suffered damage due to H2SO4 rains. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
(iv) Due to acidity, levels of heavy metals such as aluminum, manganese, zinc, cadmium, lead, and copper in water increase beyond the safe limits. Over 10,000 lakes in Sweden have become acidified. Thousands of lakes in the USA, Canada, and Norway have become unproductive due to acidity. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
(v) Fish population has decreased tremendously, and there are deaths of Salman trout, etc. The fishless areas (lakes) are now fish graveyards. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
(vi) Many bacteria and blue-green algae are killed due to acidification, thus disrupting the ecological balance. In West Germany, nearly forests died and nearly 18 million acres of forests are critically affected by acid rains. Forests in Switzerland, Netherlands, and Czechoslovakia have also been damaged by acid rains. Nutrients such as calcium magnesium and potassium have been leached away from the soil by acids. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
(vii) Acid rains are a great threat to the British environment as to Central Europe and Southern Scandinavia. In 1974 acid rain over Scotland was found to be sourer than vinegar. This H2SO4 shower, 500 times more acidic than rain was the world record for four years. Much of the falling snow in Britain is now highly acidic. If it does not melt it may turn into a pollution time bomb. Several rivers as Twyla are acidic. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
(viii) Acid rain is becoming a major political issue. Acid rains are carried away by prevailing winds to elsewhere where precipitation takes place. Thus, oxides may be produced at one place, and these affect elsewhere by turning into acids. The two such victims are Canada and Sweden. Canada gets acid rains from petrochemical units in North America. Heavy winds pick up acid rain from factories in Britain and France to Sweden. Equally grim are the acid rains in Norway, Denmark, and W. Germany. 90% of the acid rain in Norway and 75% of Sweden are due to drifted acid rain oxides. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
(ix) Though the acidity of rainwater is yet to be adequately monitored, developing countries like ours may soon have to face the acid rain problem. The acid rain is fast spreading to the developing world where tropical soils are even more vulnerable than those of European. It appears that the acid rain problem is on the avail in India.
Due to sulphur dioxide from coal-based power plants and petroleum refineries. Industrial areas with the PH value of rainwater below or close to the critical value have been recorded in Delhi, Nagpur, Pane, Mumbai, and Kolkata. According to a study made by B.A.R. Air Monitoring Section; the average PH value of acid rain at Kolkata is 5.80, Hyderabad at 5.73, Madras at 5.85, Delhi, at 6.21, and Bombay at 4.80. The situation may even worsen in the future due to increased installation of thermal power plants by NTPC, and consequent increase in coal consumption. (Bed 2nd Year What do you mean by Acid Rain)
According to one estimate, the total emission of SO2 in India forms fossil fuel burning has increased from 1.38 million tons in 1966 to 3.20 million tons in 1979, a 21% increase as compared to a corresponding increase of only 8.4% in the USA during the same period. There is an urgent need for proper regular monitoring to provide timely warnings about the acidification of our environment.