why does the air smell nice after its been raining in the summer/?

Answer 1

What you smell is ozone, which is generated during summer thunderstorms and lingers in the air for a little while before dissipating and degrading from O3 (ozone) back to O2 (regular oxygen).

Answer 2

Dont quite know. In any case, the smell is very refreshing and comforting. We all know that the drops of water falling to the ground catch dust particles and other foreign particles in the air and as a result clear the air. After a heavy rain, when the sun comes out, one does notice the crisp feeling in the air. Also, after the hot soil gets dampened for the first time (say during the monsoon season), you have the possible beginning of new plant life germinating in the ground. the earth becomes wet and remains moist and many little minute organisms come to life thereby creating a reprductive cycle in the soil. The earth antrually brimming with possibilities smells fresh and invirating.

Answer 3

When the rain falls, the water droplets take away the dust and other micro particles that stick to them and come down.
In this way there will be no impurity i.e., bad smell. Also observe that after rain you can watch distant objects clearly than before rain. So that it will also cause the pleasant smell...

Answer 4

I think it might be to do with the fact that the rain washes some of the pollution out of the air making it smell 'cleaner'.

Answer 5

There was a show on Discovery Channel about this. What it boils down to is the rain cleans the air of dirt and other particiles. Leaving behind a clean environment.

Answer 6

Also, changes in plant stomatal resistance and water acceptance cause some plants to release additional scent particles, making their smell stronger immediately after a rain.

Answer 7

Rain washes the pollutants and dust out of the air, so you are breathing fresh clean air.

Answer 8

It is not the smell of the air, it the smell of the wet soil.

Answer 9

because all the bad smells get washed away by the rain and everything is cleaned!!!

Answer 10

You won't believe me if I told you. The air smells 'nice', because of the sudden growth in fungi(microbial fungi, of course). This is because of the humidity, no doubt.