"The information currently being shared has no scientific basis," the agency stated.
Rumors about "acid clouds" emerged after Israel's attack on an oil storage facility in Shahriar near Tehran on March 7. The fires resulting from the attacks caused the formation of black smoke that obscured the sky, resulting in black rains in the city made up of combustion products from oil.
As explained by Uzgidromet, "acidic precipitation" forms when sulfur oxides (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO₂) accumulate in the atmosphere, where they undergo chemical reactions with water vapor in clouds. Such processes are typically observed in industrial areas and near emission sources.
The agency also noted that when air masses move over significant distances, the level of pollutants significantly decreases due to atmospheric turbulence, vertical mixing, and both dry and wet deposition processes. Therefore, the formation of dangerous concentrations of acidic precipitation thousands of kilometers away from the source is unlikely.
Uzgidromet added that the process of precipitation formation is related to local cloud formation conditions, and rains are formed from water vapor and aerosols present in the atmosphere over a specific territory.
"Based on meteorological data and air quality monitoring, there is no recorded threat of the transfer of 'acid clouds' to the territory of Uzbekistan and neighboring countries," the agency concluded.
