{"id":280203,"date":"2025-04-12T07:49:22","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T07:49:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/12\/acid-in-the-air-imd-study-finds-rain-turning-more-acidic-in-india\/"},"modified":"2025-04-12T07:49:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T07:49:22","slug":"acid-in-the-air-imd-study-finds-rain-turning-more-acidic-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/12\/acid-in-the-air-imd-study-finds-rain-turning-more-acidic-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Acid in the air? IMD study finds rain turning more acidic in India"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Acid<\/div>


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A 34-year-long study by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has found that rainwater is becoming increasingly acidic across several parts of India. The study, conducted between 1987 and 2021, observed a consistent drop in rainwater pH levels in cities like Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), and Mohanbari (Assam). A lower pH value indicates higher acidity, and rainwater with pH below 5.65 is classified as acidic, a TOI report stated.<\/p>\n

Study spans 10 locations across India<\/h2>\n

The research tracked rain chemistry at 10 Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) stations, including Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Prayagraj, Mohanbari, Pune and Nagpur (Maharashtra), Visakhapatnam, Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu), Minicoy (Lakshadweep), and Port Blair (Andaman & Nicobar Islands). According to scientists, there was a \u201cgeneral decrease in pH over time\u201d at most of these locations.<\/p>\n

Pollution from industry and vehicles driving acidity<\/h2>\n

The decline in pH levels is more pronounced in industrial and urban centres with heavy pollution. In Visakhapatnam, emissions from the oil refinery, power plant, fertilizer facility, and shipping yard are linked to increasing acidity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn contrast, Jodhpur and Srinagar benefit from natural dust particles from nearby regions, like the Thar Desert, which help neutralize acidic components,\u201d an IMD scientist said.<\/p>\n

Pune and Prayagraj show significant decline<\/h2>\n

The rainwater pH in Pune is decreasing by 0.15 units per decade during wet seasons. Prayagraj is seeing an even steeper drop \u2014 pH levels have fallen by 0.4 units per decade in dry months and 0.74 units per decade in wet months. Minicoy also recorded a decline of 0.53 per decade in dry months and 0.3 per decade in wet months.<\/p>\n

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Experts noted that pH changes, even if small numerically, represent large changes in acidity because the pH scale is logarithmic. <\/p>\n

Neutralising elements are weakening<\/h2>\n

The study found that in areas like Prayagraj, Jodhpur, and Nagpur, calcium particles that help balance acidity are decreasing. Though some areas are seeing a rise in ammonium particles, researchers say it is not enough to offset the trend. \u201cThe main pollutant linked to acidic rain is nitrate (NO\u2083\u207b), which is rising in some of the study areas because of emissions from vehicles, factories, burning of crop residue, and household sources,\u201d the scientist said.<\/p>\n

Acid rain not an immediate threat, but trend is worrying<\/h2>\n

While current pH levels are not considered dangerous, scientists caution that the trend could pose problems in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile our current pH levels in many Indian cities are not alarmingly low yet, we could see significant effects in the future if this acidification trend continues. Normal rain has a pH of around 5.6 because of natural factors like atmospheric carbon dioxide forming carbonic acid and other pollutant gases,\u201d said Bishwajit Mukhopadhyay, former scientist in IMD.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cWhen pH drops substantially below this level\u2014particularly below 5\u2014we begin to see visible damage. This includes degradation of marble structures in archaeological monuments, increased corrosion of buildings and bridges and, perhaps most concerning, the leaching of toxic heavy metals like aluminum, iron, nickel, and chromium from soil into our aquatic systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mukhopadhyay warned that these metals could enter the food chain and create health hazards. \u201cAt present levels, these effects are not widespread. But this is definitely a trend we need to closely monitor.\u201d
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 34-year-long study by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has found that rainwater is becoming increasingly acidic across several parts of India. The study, conducted between 1987 and 2021, observed a consistent drop in rainwater pH levels in cities like Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), and Mohanbari […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/118783427.cms","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[602],"tags":[17378,216865,216870,721,162318,216869,2302,13093,216867,273,216868,13092,216866,250,5589],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280203"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280205,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280203\/revisions\/280205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}