acid rainn.
/ˌasɪd ˈreɪn/, U.S. /ˈæsəd ˈreɪn/ Rain or other precipitation with significantly increased acidity, esp. as a result of atmospheric pollution; a fall of such rain.Acid rain can adversely affect ecosystems, esp. in lakes and forests, and may also cause damage to buildings and other structures.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > rain > [noun] > with suspended particles or pollution
red rain?1660
yellow rain1755
blood rain1772
acid rain1845
sulphur rain1882
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > pollution or defilement > environmental pollution > [noun] > other types of pollution
acid rain1845
air pollution1874
fallout1946
rainout1954
radiation1958
thermal pollution1965
light pollution1969
radioactivity1969
noise pollution1970
wash-off1979
1845 Chemist 6 250/2 (title) Observation of an acid rain.
1859 Q. Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 11 232 The stones and bricks of buildings..crumble more readily in large towns where much coal is burnt... I was led to attribute this effect to the slow, but constant, action of the acid rain.
1881 Jrnl. Sci. (3rd Ser.) 3 132 As a matter of course all vegetation exposed to acid vapours and acid rain is destroyed.
1929 Encycl. Brit. XX. 841/1 Acid rain is also directly harmful to plant life, and affects adversely the soil.
1972 N.Y. Times 12 June 12/3 Sweden has presented to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment a ‘case study’ of the effects in Sweden of acid rains generated largely by emissions from the industrial belt stretching from the Ruhr to the British Midlands.
1983 J. Macy Despair & Personal Power i. 12 Probably the most frequent response to the subject of the nuclear threat (or acid rain..etc.) is to the effect that ‘I don't think about that, because there is nothing I can do about it’.
2006 D. H. Erwin Extinction i. 10 Global cooling from erupted dust, followed by global warming from clouds of carbon dioxide and acid rain from billowing sulfur are commonly proposed links between volcanism and extinction.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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