Causes of Acid rain:

• Acid rain is caused by a chemical reaction that begins when compounds like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air.
• These substances can rise very high into the atmosphere, where they mix and react with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form more acidic pollutants, known as acid rain.
• Human activities are the main cause of acid rain. Over the past few decades, humans have released so many different chemicals into the air that they have changed the mix of gases in the atmosphere.
• Power plants release the majority of sulfur dioxide and much of the nitrogen oxides when they burn fossil fuels, such as coal, to produce electricity.
• In addition, the exhaust from cars, trucks, and buses releases nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide into the air. These pollutants cause acid rain.
• Acid Rain is Caused by Reactions in the Environment: Nature depends on balance, and although some rain is naturally acidic, with a pH level of around 5.0, human activities have made it worse.
• Normal precipitation such as rain, sleet, or snow reacts with alkaline chemicals, or non-acidic materials, that can be found in air, soils, bedrock, lakes, and streams. These reactions usually neutralize natural acids.
• However, if precipitation becomes too acidic, these materials may not be able to neutralize all of the acids. Over time, these neutralizing materials can be washed away by acid rain. Damage to crops, trees, lakes, rivers, and animals can result.

Effect of acid-rain:

• Acid rain has many ecological effects, but none is greater than its impact on lakes, streams, wetlands, and other aquatic environments.
• Acid rain makes waters acidic and causes them to absorb the aluminum that makes its way from soil into lakes and streams.
• The most obvious environmental effect of acid rain has been the loss of fish in acid sensitive lakes and streams. Many species of fish are not able to survive in acidic water. Acid rain affects lakes and streams in two ways: chronic and episodic.
• The acid rain affect the human beings by creating skin irritation.
• The land as well as the water ecosystem get affected by these acid rains.