Acid rain can be carried great distances in the atmosphere, not just between countries but also from continent to continent. The acid can also take the form of snow, mists and dry dusts. The dry dust can cause respiratory illnesses in animals and humans such as asthma. The rain sometimes falls many miles from the source of pollution but wherever it falls it can have a serious effect on soil, trees, buildings and water.
In the 1970s the effects of acid rain were at their worst. Forests all over the world were dying and in Scandinavia the fish were dying; lakes looked crystal clear but contained no living creatures or plant life. Many of Britain's freshwater fish were threatened; their eggs were damaged and deformed fish were hatched. This in turn affected fish-eating birds and animals. Animals belong to a food chain and often if one link in a food chain is taken away it can have devastating effects.
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