Wiktionary

acid rain

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Etymology edit

Coined in 1872 by Scottish chemist Robert Angus Smith.

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Noun edit

acid rain (countable and uncountable, plural acid rains)

  1. (inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry) Rain which is unusually acidic (pH of less than the natural range of 5 to 6); caused mainly by atmospheric pollution with sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen compounds.
    • 1987 January 20, “Airborne Pollutants”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN:
      Acid rain forms when water in the atmosphere condenses on particles containing acid-forming pollutants, such as sulfate produced by the burning of fossil fuels and nitrogen oxides from automobile exhausts.

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