This encourages the spread of plant pests and diseases. It seems likely that acid rain weakens the trees, perhaps helped by other pollutants such as ozone, and then leaves the trees open to attack by disease. Acid rain also disrupts the availability of soil nutrients. The final death of a tree may result from a combination of stresses such as heat, cold, drought, nutrient disruption and disease. It seems that the slow-growing, longer lived forests of the North may be more susceptible than the faster growing, shorter lived forests of South Africa.
Acid rain erodes buildings and monuments.
Acid particles in the air are suspected of contributing to respiratory problems in people. The coal burning power stations and large metal working industries of South Africa are concentrated in the Eastern Transvaal Highveld, the industrial heart of the country. Electricity is distributed nationally from here and many of our exports are produced in this region. Not surprisingly acid rain occurs in this region and can average pH 4,2 and sometimes fall as low as pH 3,7. Whether this is harming our crops or forests is not known.